Reunited? Or not?
by Rockyrocks919
Summary: After fifteen years of thinking her husband is dead, Annabeth is surprised when her daughter Katlyn ends up leading Percy back home. Everyone is glad that Percy is back, but their perfect lives are about to turn into something from their worst nightmares.
1. Mom makes out with a homeless guy

In the beginning, I guess Annabeth is about twenty and late on, about thirty five. I know I keep starting more stories, and I've actually had a few other ideas that I haven't published, but I just keep thinking of new ideas. Sorry if you're reading some of my other stories, I have writer's block and I would appreciate it if you guys gave me some ideas. :) Thanks.

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO

* * *

Annabeth's POV

I waited outside on top of the hill for the van that had left almost two weeks ago with my husband in it. Percy, Clarisse, Nico, and Grover had gone on an emergency quest that I would have loved to go on, but when you're eight months pregnant, your husband wants to protect you and tells you to stay.

"It's best for the baby," he'd said. "Besides, you're in no condition for travel, not to mention fighting." So he'd left Rachel in charge of me to make sure I stayed at camp. Had I not been pregnant, I probably would've left; waiting at camp was very difficult. For a while, I was worried Percy wouldn't be back in time to see the baby born, but now the van is pulling up slowly to a huge crowd of excited campers.

Slowly, the van door opened and out came an exhausted looking Clarisse. Nico and Grover came out the other door, but I knew something was wrong: all three of them looked terrible, like they hadn't slept for a while. None of them were excited to be here and worse: there was no sign of Percy. The cheering suddenly stopped as I made my way up to my friends.

"Where's Percy?" I asked. Grover and Nico both looked down at their feet, fake ones on Grover's case. Clarisse looked uncomfortable, but she opened her mouth after a few moments.

"Annabeth, why don't we go inside where you can sit down?" I shook my head.

"Where is he?" I was pretty sure I already knew the answer and felt tears forming in my eyes.

"He's... gone. I'm sorry." I started sobbing. Clarisse looked at Grover, who stepped forward and hugged me.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. I pulled away and tried to speak, but I couldn't stop the tears long enough to form words. I wanted to run, be anywhere but here, but I wouldn't be successful with my big belly. I just sat down on the ground and wept into my hands. Soon many of my friends were crowding me, giving hugs and trying to comfort me.

"I'm sorry, it should have been me, not him." I recognized the voice as Clarisse's. I wrapped my arms around her and started crying into her shoulder.

"When my baby is born," I said through sobs. "I'm never going to tell her who I really am or any of you guys. She'll never know about the gods or monsters. She'll be a normal kid and never have to worry about her life being at risk. I don't want my daughter to die this way too."

* * *

Fifteen years later

"Mom! Come on! I'm going to be late!" Katlyn called from downstairs. I sat up in bed and looked at the clock. 8:18. Oh gods, I overslept! Katie's school starts at 8:30 and it's five minutes away. I jumped out of bed and ran to my closet. I threw on the first outfit I saw, which was a yellow t-shirt and blue jean shorts. I tossed my hair into a quick ponytail and slipped on my tennis shoes. 8:21.

"Hurry up, mom! You're making me late!"

"I'm coming!" I shouted as I grabbed my purse and keys and ran downstairs. My fifteen year old daughter was waiting impatiently by the door with her backpack on, tapping her foot.

"Let's go!" she said and we headed out to the car. Katie was a curly blond, like me, with green eyes. She was wearing an orange shirt with dark blue jeans and white tennis shoes. I had decided not to tell her about the other part of her life even though before she was born Percy and I had decided she would know. After we lost him, I realized that kind of life was too dangerous and that I didn't want to have my child go through it. It's not that she doesn't deserve to know, Katie is a good kid and I don't like lying to her, but I already lost my husband and I didn't want to lose Katie too.

"You know," Katie said right before we pulled into the high school. "I don't mind riding the bus. Vicky rides it and I won't have to worry about being late." I shook my head.

"Katie, I'm sorry about this morning. I promise that I'll set the alarm clock for tomorrow. I meant to yesterday, but I've been busy." Katie sighed as she opened her door.

"Mom, I just don't understand you sometimes. Why can't I just be a normal teenager?" I opened my mouth to reply but she slammed the door and ran to the school. I hoped she would be able to get to class in just two and a half minutes.

* * *

Katlyn's POV

After a very boring school day, my friends Dylan, Natalie and I walked across the street to the ice cream shop.

"Hey, can one of you guys lend me some money?" Natalie asked. "I forgot my money at home." I pulled out a five dollar bill and gave it to her. Despite the fact that she didn't care much for her looks, Natalie was absolutely gorgeous. She was mixed, half black and half white, with brown eyes and about average height. She was adopted, though, and had never met her parents or even seen any pictures of them, so we didn't know which side of the family she'd inherited her good looks from.

"Thanks," she said as we ordered our ice cream.

"So," Dylan said as we sat down. "Did you guys hear about what Ms. Smith did earlier?" I shook my head and he grinned. Dylan has sandy blonde hair and gorgeous brown eyes. I've had a huge crush on him ever since we were seven when we were put into the same second grade class. I'll never forget the time when he punched a mean fourth grader who was trying to steal my lunch box. My mom was good friends with his parents, so we'd known each other since we were babies, but that was the first time we ever really clicked. We've been best friends ever since. I was brought back to reality when I noticed his mouth was moving and he was talking.

"...and then she said 'Oh my goodness that was your pencil!'" Dylan and Natalie started cracking up laughing, so I did too, even though I had no idea what he had said. When we finished our ice cream, the three of us went outside and decided to go shopping. My mom, of course, wouldn't let me go walking around like this, but she thinks I have tutorials after school for two hours. My friends and I always walk around town for a while and I make it back to school just in time for the last ten minutes of tutorials. I feel kind of bad for lying to her, but she's just always so strict and if I followed her rules all the time, I would never have any fun.

At the store, I bought a new pair of sunglasses. I wanted to buy some new clothes, but then it would be obvious to my intelligent mother that I had been out of school. We left the store and started walking back to school, which was just about two blocks away.

"Whoa," Natalie said when I put my sunglasses on and my hair in a ponytail. "You look just like your mom." She pulled a tiny mirror out of her pocket and put it in my hand. I stared at the reflection and raised my eyebrows in shock.

"Oh my goodness, you're right. I look practically identical to some of the pictures of her when she was younger, except for the eyes. I got mine from my dad."

"Well, with those sunglasses on, you can't even tell," Natalie said.

"It's kind of freaky," Dylan said. I hit him playfully and he smiled. I grabbed my hair tie and was about to pull it out when his hand grabbed mine. "Don't take it down. It looks good." I smiled and dropped my hands, my left one still in his.

"Um," he said and I blushed as I realized I was holding his hand so I let go.

"Sorry," I mumbled, suddenly uncomfortable.

"It's alright," he muttered.

"Hey," Natalie said, rescuing us from the awkward moment. "Do you know that guy, Katie?" I looked around but didn't know who she was talking about. We were only one block away from the school now.

"Where?"

"Right there," she pointed to a man, probably in his mid-thirties, with dark, greasy hair and green eyes. He looked sort of pale and was really skinny like he hadn't eaten in a while. His face and clothes were covered in grime and dirt like a homeless person. He looked strangely familiar and was staring straight at me with a shocked look on his face.

"No, I don't think so." The man started toward us.

"It sure looks like he knows _you_." Natalie said.

"Maybe he thinks you're someone else." Dylan said doubtfully.

"Are you...Annabeth Jackson's daughter?" the man asked me when he reached us. Freaky, I feel like I know him some how. I nodded and he swept me into a hug. I heard a sound and realized he was crying. Okay, this is really starting to get creepy.

"I can't believe it," the man said between sobs, "I never thought I would get to meet you and now here you are. You're so beautiful. Just like your mother." He pulled away and wiped his eyes. "Where is Annabeth, anyway?"

I hesitated. Why would this guy need to know that?

"Home," I said, wanting to get away from this man.

"Can you bring me there?" I felt Dylan grab my hand and suddenly my friends and I were sprinting back to school.

"Wait!" the man shouted and I turned my head to see him following us, but then he tripped over something and fell. We kept running until we made it to school and then I saw something I wasn't expecting for another half hour: my mom's car in the parking lot.

"Oh God," I muttered as I halted.

"Come on!" Dylan said. "That guy is still chasing us!" He grabbed my hand and once again pulled me into a run. A few seconds later we were banging on my startled looking mother's car doors. She unlocked them when she saw it was me and we jumped in.

"Katlyn Danielle Jackson!" she exclaimed. "Where were you, young lady? Do you realize how worried I was about you? I-"

"I'm sorry mom, but right now, there's some homeless guy chasing us! Go!" She looked confused but didn't hesitate to pull out of the school as quickly as possible.

"Do either of you two have a cell phone?" My mom asked my friends as we zoomed down the street.

"No," they both said in unison.

"My parents won't let me get one," Natalie said.

"Same here," Dylan agreed.

"Of course they won't," she muttered. "Oh gods, I knew this day would come."

"Huh?" I asked her.

"Katlyn, can you describe the person who was chasing you?"

"I don't know, he was dirty with holes in his clothes and really pale."

"Was there anything unusual about him?"

"He looked like a normal homeless guy, only he somehow knew I was your daughter."

"Alright, we need to have a talk tonight."

* * *

"Mom," I said when I had finished all my homework. "What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" She was in the middle of making pasta and looked frustrated.

"We'll talk after dinner." I sighed.

"Okay, then." I decided I would go check my email, so I started walking to my room, but then the door bell rang.

"Katie, could you get that? I'm kind of busy in here."

"Alright," I yelled as I opened the door. My eyes widened and I tried to slam the door closed when I saw the homeless guy in the doorway.

"Wait!" he said as he put his hand out, keeping the door open enough for him to slip through.

"Go away!" I shouted. "What do you want from us?"

"Please," he said and it looked as if the man had tears in his eyes. That couldn't be right; he probably came here to rob us, or even worse, kill us. "Where's Annabeth? Tell her to come here."

"Mom! Call the cops!" I shouted as I tried with all my strength to shut the door. For a homeless guy, he was pretty strong, which made me even more terrified.

"Katie? What's going on in there?"

"Annabeth! It's me!" the man called. He slipped through the door and started to run toward the kitchen.

"It's me! Per-" He collapsed after I threw a glass vase full of flowers at his head.

"What's going on?" my mom asked as she ran into the living room. Her eyes widened when she saw the man on the floor and she ran to his side. Mom had tears in her eyes and she pulled the unconscious man into a sitting position to hug him.

"You know him?" I asked, shocked.

"Get some water," mom said and I immediately brought in a glass from the kitchen. I gave it to my mom, who threw the water onto the man's head.

"Mom! Why did you just-" my voice faltered as I saw the man opening his eyes.

"Annabeth," he said suddenly, his voice strong.

"Oh my gods," my mom muttered. "I thought you were dead." The man smiled and I realized he actually was quite handsome. The next thing I knew, they were making out, which made my jaw drop. I'd never seen mom kiss anyone before in my whole life, well, except for family on the cheek, but nothing like this. According to my Uncle Grover (he's not my real uncle, I just call him that), the only person she'd ever kissed was my dad, who had died. And now here she was... making out with some homeless guy who I'm pretty sure wanted to kill me earlier. I always knew I came from a strange family, but this is just a little too weird.

* * *

There's chapter one! Ooh, I wonder who this homeless guy is! Just kidding, and I should hope you know who it is too. Anyway, please review! They motivate me to write! Thanks! :D Oh, and ideas are welcome and wanted, I'm not sure where this is going, I just thought of it in geometry class and thought it would be a good story. :)


	2. Mom's Got a Date?

Hey people! Sorry, I know I haven't updated in a while, so here's a pretty long chapter! This chapter is dedicated to all my reviewers, but particularly Olympian Offspring who continuously sent me messages reminding me to update. Thanks! I'm glad you guys are enjoying this. Oh yeah, at the beginning of chapter one, I said they live in a house, but I realized it would be easier if they lived in an apartment, so I'll go back and change it.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.

"Um, Mom?" I said after a few minutes of staring at the awkward scene of my mother making out with some guy I've never seen in my life before this afternoon, but looked strangely familiar. They didn't seem to hear me, though and I tried again.

"Mom!" There was no way she hadn't heard me, so she was obviously choosing to ignore me. I groaned and stomped away into my bedroom, slamming the door on my way in. I cracked the door slightly to see if she had gotten up, but Mom hadn't budged. I shut the door again, this time quietly, and, not sure what else to do, picked up the cordless phone. In times like this, I desperately needed someone to talk to, someone who will listen and give me advice. I punched the number two on the phone: speed dial for my best friend.

"Hey Katie, what's up?" Natalie answered on the first ring.

"Oh my gosh, Natalie, you won't believe this."

"What?"

"Remember that guy earlier who chased us?"

"You mean that hobo who hugged you? How could I forget?"

"Yeah, well remember how he asked about my mom?"

"Yeah, what a creep."

"Well, while Mom was making dinner, the doorbell rang and guess who it was?"

"No way! You mean he followed you home?"

"That's not the worst of it. Anyway, I opened the door and when I saw who it was, I tried to lock him out, but he just came in and shouted my mom's name. Then he started heading for the kitchen and I didn't know what to do, so I threw a vase at him."

"Ooh! You go girl!"

"And it knocked him out-"

"Girl, I told you that you need to join the softball team! With an arm like that-"

"Natalie! Can I finish my story?"

"Oh, right, sorry. Go on."

"Okay, so then Mom ran in and freaked out. She told me to get her some water and so I did. Mom poured the water on his head and he woke up, looking somehow stronger than before. Apparently, Mom knows the guy and said something about thinking he was dead. Next thing I knew they were having a make out session in the middle of the living room."

"Oh my gosh, are you serious?"

"Why would I lie to you about my mother's love life?"

"I guess you wouldn't; it's just so shocking. I've known you since we were in diapers and never, not even once, has your mom ever gone on a date with anyone."

"Think about how weird it must be for her daughter! According to every one of Mom's friends, she has never even dated a guy besides my father."

"Wow, that must be awkward."

"It is! I-"

"Katie!" Mom called.

"Hey, I've got to go. It sounds like Mom finally decided to stop and get some air."

"Okay. Call me later and fill me in."

"You know I will."

"Talk to you later."

"Bye." I hung up the phone and walked into the living room. The room was empty and I didn't see any sign of my mother or the creepy man. My heart began to beat faster as a wave of panic went through me. Mom hadn't sounded like she was in trouble when she called me, it sounded like she just wanted me to help her with something, but what if I was wrong? What if that hobo kidnapped her?

"Mom?" I shouted as I rushed towards her bedroom.

"In here!" she shouted from the opposite side of the apartment. I ran to the kitchen, relieved to know she was all right, but I felt my eyebrows go up in shock when I was just a few feet away and froze in place. There was a noise coming from the kitchen: a sound that people make when they're happy, but I've never heard it from my mother before. She was _humming._

I cautiously walked into the kitchen and saw Mom putting the pasta, which was supposed to be tonight's dinner, into tupperware containers.

"Mom?" I asked and she glanced up at me with a huge grin spread across her face.

"Katie, go ahead and invite Natalie over to spend the night. You two can order a pizza, I'm buying, and watch a movie or whatever it is you girls want to do as long as it's here." I was too stunned to respond. Sure, Mom lets my friends come over, but I always had to beg and offer to do the laundry or something to have them stay the night. Even those times I was always responsible for buying anything we wanted to get unless it was a special occasion like my birthday. Now she is telling me that she'll buy us pizza and I hadn't even asked for Natalie to stay the night, but I'm not complaining.

"Um, thanks Mom. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going out." Another huge shocker: Mom never "goes out." I mean occasionally she'll go do something with her friends, but I always know about it ahead of time.

"What do you mean you're "going out"? What's gotten into you? First you start making out with a hobo-"

"Katlyn!" Oh no, apparently she didn't like me referring to her new boyfriend as a hobo. "Don't you _dare_ ever call him that young lady! He is not a hobo and you know what? He also happens to be your-" then she stopped, as if deciding not to say any more. "You just don't understand." She went into the dining room to sit down in a chair. She put her head in her hands and I heard her sobbing.

_What did you do to her, Katlyn?_ I thought. I put my arms around her and hushed her.

"I'm sorry Mom," I whispered. "It's none of my business; you can date whoever you want to date." She looked up at me and smiled.

"Well, I'd better get going." Mom stood up from the table and wiped her eyes. "My date's about to be out of the shower." She must have noticed my puzzled look because she smiled, but decided to keep her mouth shut as she walked to her bedroom.

I went back to my room and brought Natalie up to date. Apparently her mom already knew about the sleepover and was for some reason eager to bring Natalie over.

"Maybe she wants to meet my mom's date before they leave," I said.

"I don't know. She seemed really shocked when your mom told her something over the phone; I think she must have known him a long time ago because she was saying things like 'No way!' and 'Are you sure it's him?'"

"Really? That's weird."

"Yep. Well, my mom is trying to get me out the door right now, so I'll see you in a few minutes."

"All right, bye."

"Bye."

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang and I opened it. I almost got trampled by Natalie's mom, who rushed inside as soon as the door opened. Natalie was still in the doorway with her large backpack and I waved her in.

"That was kind of weird," I said as I shut the door behind her.

"Tell me about it. She rushed here at one hundred miles an hour; I'm surprised we didn't get pulled over."

"Where is he?" Natalie's mom asked my mother excitedly. She pointed into her room but stopped them both and whispered something to Natalie's mom before they went in.

"Hey!" the creepy man from earlier exclaimed as he hugged my Aunt Rachel. They didn't say anything aloud, but I could see them whispering to each other.

"Girls," Mom said. "Why don't you two go into your room?" I nodded, knowing arguing would not be a good idea if I planned on living, and walked to my room.

"This is all too strange for one day," I told Natalie when we were in my room, sitting down on my bed.

"Yeah, I would hate to be you right now." Suddenly I had an idea.

"Natalie, you know how I said that guy looks familiar?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Why?"

"Well, I think that maybe if we look through some of Mom's old stuff, maybe we can find out some information about this guy." Natalie grinned in an evil type of way.

"Let's do it."

"Where do we start?" Natalie asked when we were in Mom's room.

"I'm not sure, she doesn't really show me much of her personal stuff. I'll start under the bed, you look in the closet." I looked under the bed and pulled out a dust covered chest. There was a label on the outside that said _Annabeth Chase, Athena Cabin. _Athena cabin? What does that mean?

When I opened it, I was surprised at what I saw: a laptop, spider spray, an architecture book, a jug of some liquid I din't recognize, even sunscreen with spf 5000. As I continued to dig through the trunk, I found a dagger (What's Mom doing with a dagger?) and an orange t-shirt that said _Camp Half Blood_ on the front.

I wanted to find out more about the chest, but I decided to leave it alone for now; it gave no clues about the mysterious man. I started to close the chest, then stopped when I saw a Yankees cap. I've always wanted one, but Mom had always gotten nervous around them for some reason, so I pulled the cap out and put it on my head. I decided to pick up the dagger as well; maybe I could ask Mom about it later.

I slid the chest back under the bed and pulled out an old looking box labeled _fragile_. I picked through a few architecture books until I finally found a photo album.

"Jackpot," I muttered and opened the book. The first picture was one of my Uncle Grover at about twenty years old making a funny face and I couldn't help but laugh.

"What is it?" Natalie asked from where she sat next to the closet.

"Come here." She stood up and looked around the room.

"Over here," I said and she jumped, staring straight at the spot where I was sitting. "What? Are you going to come here or not?" She backed away with a terrified look on her face. I stood up and felt the Yankees cap shift on my head. I pulled the cap off and Natalie stared at me wide eyed.

"What?"

"Put that cap back on," she said and I obeyed. "Whoa, that's so awesome! Where'd you get that?"

"From my Mom's stuff, why?"

"Can I try it on?" she asked excitedly.

"Um, sure," I handed the cap to her waiting hand and watched as she put the cap on her head, suddenly disappearing.

"Whoa, Natalie." I rubbed my eyes. "I think I need to go get my eyes checked."

"If you do," she said suddenly appearing back in front of me. "So do I, because you _disappeared_ when you put it on. Anyway, what did you want to show me?" She handed me the cap, which I stuffed into my pocket along with my Mom's dagger.

"Come here," I said and gestured for her to sit down next to me. I picked up the photo album and she giggled when she saw the picture.

"Is that Uncle G?" I nodded and she started cracking up. "Let's look at more." I turned the page and saw teenage boy with shaggy black hair and green eyes standing next to Uncle Grover.

"That's him!" I exclaimed.

"Flip the page," Natalie said. "See if there are anymore."

"Wait a second," I looked at the boy's orange t-shirt. "I found a shirt like that just a minute ago in my mom's stuff. That means they went to the same camp together!" I flipped the page. The teenager was on this page too, but this time he was on the beach, holding my smiling mother in his arms.

"Okay, well, obviously he must have been something more than just a friend to your mom at the time," she said when I flipped the page to find a photo of the two in the same pose, only this time they were kissing.

"That's weird. Why hasn't anyone mentioned him before?"

"Maybe the relationship didn't go well." There was another photo of them at the same place with the guy throwing my mom into the water. Another showed them splashing around in the water.

"Whoa," Natalie waid when the next photo showed the couple again in the same scene, only this time Mom had her arms around the guy's neck and was holding up her left hand proudly. I wasn't sure why, but the next picture, a zoom up of her hand, revealed a ring on her ring finger.

"What do you think that means?" Natalie asked.

"I guess they got engaged, but that doesn't make any sense. Mom said my dad proposed to her when she was nineteen, so who's this guy?" Natalie shrugged and I flipped the page.

"Aw," Natalie said. "He's getting married. I wonder what happened to his wife; I sure hope he's not still married if he's dating your mom." The next photo was of a bride walking down the aisle towards the mystery man.

"I want a dress like that when I get married," Natalie muttered and I flipped the page to find that the bride was my mom!

"Whoa! She's been married before? Why didn't she ever tell me?" The next page showed my very pregnant mother hugging the mystery man. Both she and the man had tears in their eyes.

"What?" I exclaimed. "She got pregnant with some other guy? Does that mean I have an older sibling somewhere out there? I can't believe-" Suddenly I shut my mouth as I saw the next picture; well actually the picture description. The man was patting Mom's belly, his mouth open, as if talking to the baby inside. The description, written in Mom's handwriting, said: _Percy's last photo._

"Oh my goodness," I muttered as I put everything together in my mind. I understood why he looked so familiar now. Everytime I looked in the mirror, I saw those same green eyes staring back at me.

"What?" Natalie asked and I felt a tear roll down my cheek.

"He's my _dad_."

* * *

Hey people I know that was long and I could have split it up into shorter chapters but oh well. Oh yeah, I got the part about Annabeth's trunk from _The Demigod Files_ and I know it takes Katie a while to realize that Percy is actually her dad, but if you thought your dad was dead, you probably would too. Anyway, I hope you liked it and please review! :)


	3. We're freaks!

Okay, people. Sorry that I haven't updated in so long, but I've been busy. You can all thank Perabeth for urging me to update again because otherwise I might not have updated for a few more weeks! :) And Perabeth: I'm sorry about how late this is. I know I promised to update by Thursday but a few things came up so I'm sorry! Anyway, at least you have an extra long chapter! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO

* * *

"What? I thought your dad was... you know... dead." Natalie said.

"I thought he was," I said, tears streaming down my face. "But he's alive, and he's come home."

"Oh, I get it now. Remember when he hugged you and he said something about thinking he'd never get to see you? And he was looking for your mom to tell her that he's back. I wonder where he was, I mean it's been fifteen years and everyone has thought he was dead. _That's_ why my mom was so excited about coming here; she wanted to see your dad." I felt more tears coming down my face.

"I called my dad a _hobo_ and a _creep_. I feel so terrible; he was trying to hug me and I ran away from him. He's probably been through a lot of trauma and then he finds his daughter after fifteen years and I just _ran away._ _What kind of a daughter am I?_"

"Don't blame yourself, Katie, it isn't your fault; you didn't even know he was alive. When you explain everything to him, he'll understand, I mean, really, who wouldn't run away from a stranger who just comes up and hugs you? You'd have been crazy not to."

"I guess so." I wiped my eyes. "I want to know more about him; Mom never told me much. Let's keep looking around." I looked back under the bed and saw a dust covered box labeled _Percy_. Just what I was looking for.

I opened the box and pulled out what looked like a large animal's horn.

"Whoa, Natalie, look at this!" she came over and her eyes widened when she saw the giant horn.

"Where did you get _that_?" I pointed to the box and she sat down next to me, rummaging through the box.

"Hey, look," she picked up a watch and slid it onto her wrist. "It fits!" She pressed a button and suddenly the watch expanded into a huge shield.

"Weird," I muttered and observed the pictures on the front. "I wonder what other strange things are in here." I was about to rummage through the box again when the doorbell rang for the second time tonight.

"Oh no," Natalie said. "Is that your mom?" I shook my head.

"She just left a few minutes ago; there's no way she'd be home this early. My mom ordered pizza, remember?"

"But she didn't order it until right before she left, about fifteen minutes ago."

I shrugged. "I guess they're early." I walked to the kitchen to get the money Mom had left and told Natalie to answer the door. I found a twenty dollar bill lying on the counter and reached for it when the phone started ringing. I walked to the phone which was just a few feet away, and picked it up from the charger.

"Hello?" I said when I picked it up.

"Katlyn Jackson," A raspy male voice said on the other end.

"Who is this?" I felt my fingers trembling when I heard his laugh.

"That's not important. You want to know more about your father, don't you?" My jaw dropped.

"How do you know about my dad?"

"Do you want to know or not?"

I hesitated a moment. "Yes."

"Meet me in the alley behind the deserted restaurant on Oak Avenue in thirty minutes."

"Why should I if I don't even know who this is?" He laughed again.

"Katlyn, you've always been different and you know it. I can explain everything your mother never did; all you have to do is meet me in the alley." There was a click and then nothing.

I hung up the phone and just stood there, wondering what I should do. I wanted to know about my dad and why I'm different, but it's creepy how that guy seemed to know the situation. Not only that, but he wanted me to meet him in a dark alley. How stupid would I be to do that?

Suddenly, I felt an arm go around my waist, gripping my body tightly. I tried to scream, but another hand clasped over my mouth. _Oh no, _I thought. _That call was probably just a distraction so someone could break in and kidnap Natalie and I. Or something worse that I don't even want to think about._ I kicked my leg back with all my might, causing the person who had hold of me to fall over, taking me with him.

"Ouch," a familiar voice said and released his arms from around me.

"Dylan!" I turned to look at my friend, who was currently rubbing his shin. "Why would you scare me like that?"

"Well, I was expecting you to answer the door, but when Natalie did, I saw an opportunity. I wouldn't have done it if I knew you had such a hard kick." He flashed a goofy grin and I smiled as well, throwing my arms around his neck.

"I'm glad it was only you," I said.

"What do you mean?" I pulled away.

"I just got a phone call from some creepy guy about my dad."

"Your dad? Didn't he die, like, before you were born?"

"Apparently not. Remember that guy earlier? The one who hugged me and chased us?"

"That creepy hobo guy? How could I forget?"

"Hey! Don't you _ever_ talk about my dad that way!" I slapped him and his jaw dropped.

"Wait, _he's_ your _dad?_ Did he come here? How do you know he's not just a phony? I mean, you guys think he's dead and then he suddenly shows up after _fifteen years_? Does that seem the least bit strange to you?"

"Dylan, I can only answer one question at a time!"

"Sorry," he looked sheepish, but the look disappeared as soon as it came. "How do you know he's not just some rapist or cereal killer? **(Author's Note: That's supposed to say "serial killer," but I wrote this a long time ago and wasn't thinking and now I think it's too funny to edit out XD) **I've heard stories like this on the news, only I don't think I've ever heard about a guy pretending to be someone's dad, but it's possible. Has your mom-" I clamped my hand over his mouth.

"Yes, my mom has seen him. In fact, she's out with him right now." He looked confused. "Come with me."

We got up and he followed me into my mother's room. I sat down on the ground next to the box and picked up the photo album. Dylan sat down on the ground next to me and I pointed at the photo of my dad and Uncle Grover.

"Hey, he knows G-Man." I'm not sure why Dylan calls him that, but he's done it ever since he could talk.

"Well, of course he does. Mom said they were best friends." I flipped the page to the one with my dad throwing Mom into the water.

"Whoa, your mom used to be hot!"

"Hey!" I slapped him across the cheek. "Don't talk about my mom that way! It's gross!" I flipped a few more pages until I got to the one with Mom holding up her hand to show off her wedding ring.

"Look at that," I said. "She has her arms around that guy and she has a wedding ring on. Do you believe me now?"

"Wow," Dylan said. "He really _is _your dad."

"Yep."

"So what happened to him?" I shrugged.

"I'm not sure, but we found this box of some of his stuff." I pulled the box towards us and we started rummaging through it. Dylan pulled out an orange T-shirt and unfolded it.

"Camp Half Blood. What's that?"

"I don't know. There were some pictures of my parents and Uncle Grover wearing those T-shirts too. Maybe that's where they all met."

"Maybe," he set the shirt aside and started his search again. He pulled out an envelope and opened it to read two words:

_"Brace yourself."_

I could faintly smell the ocean but I wasn't sure where it had come from.

"That's weird," I frowned. "I wonder what it means." Then something stranger hit me.

"Dylan! How were you able to read that so easily? And earlier, Natalie was able to read where someone had written next to my dad's last photo in the photo album without the words jumbling! We're dyslexic!" His eyes widened when he glanced back at the paper.

"Katie," he said. "That's not the weirdest part." He pointed down at the paper and I realized for the first time that the writing was in ancient Greek, yet I could read it perfectly.

"What's going on?" I muttered.

"Hey," Natalie, who I hadn't even noticed was gone, came into the room. "Pizza is here." She held the box in one hand and a slice with a bite taken out of it in the other. When Dylan and I made no move to get up, Natalie sat down next to me.

"What are you guys looking at?" Dylan handed the letter to her.

"Brace yourself. Brace myself for what? What kind of person takes the time to write a letter with only two words? Who wrote this?"

"Natalie," Dylan said. "Did you notice anything strange about what just happened?" She looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Natalie, you just _read_ that! You're _dyslexic_! You aren't supposed to be able to read so easily!" Her eyes widened.

"You're right! I'm cured!" Natalie jumped up and did a little happy dance.

"No! Natalie, we can read it too!"

"So we're all cured?" Dylan groaned in frustration and put his head in his hands.

"No, Natalie, no one is cured! Take a closer look at the paper." Natalie sat back down, obviously disappointed, and picked up the paper.

"I don't get-" her eyes widened. "This is in ancient Greek. We looked at it in history class and, now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I was able to read that too. But I never learned how to read it; how is this happening?"

"I always knew I was different," Dylan mumbled. "But now I know that I'm a freak." I put my hand on his shoulder.

"You're not a freak, Dylan."

"Really?" He stood up. "Then what are we? We have trouble reading anything unless it's in ancient Greek! Have you ever heard of a dyslexic person who could do that?" I thought for a moment, then realized something.

"You guys," I said. "My mom's dyslexic too. Someone had to have written that note in Greek next to my dad's picture." I paused and waited for the look of realization in their eyes.

"And then I saw a book in Mom's trunk under the bed." I pulled it back out and opened it to search for the architecture book. I opened it and sure enough, it was written in Greek.

"Do you know what this means?" I asked.

"That your mom is a freak too?" Natalie asked.

"No. Well, yes, but no. It means that we're not the only ones who are like this. If my mom can read it, maybe your parents can too. Maybe it's something that runs in the family."

"No one ever told me about this," Dylan muttered, deep in thought.

"What do you mean?" I asked suspiciously. He seemed to know something more about this than I did and I didn't like the idea of him keeping secrets.

"Nothing," he answered. I opened my mouth to protest, but he continued before I could say anything. "Hey, what about that phone call? Didn't you say some creepy guy called you?"

I narrowed my eyes at him and he looked back at me innocently. He obviously knew something, but he could be stubborn and wasn't going to tell us what it was unless he wanted to. I gave in and explained the phone call.

"Well why are we still here?" Dylan asked and stood as he looked down at his watch. "It's nine thirty two. It was nine twenty when I got here. We have about twenty minutes left. It's about a fifteen minute walk. Let's go." Natalie stood up as well.

"Wait," I said. "Don't you guys think it's a little strange that he seemed to know about my dad when he only showed up a few hours ago? And then he wants us to meet him in an alley at almost ten o'clock at night?"

"Come on, Katie," Natalie pouted. "He said he'd tell you what your mom never told you. Aren't you curious? Admit it, you'd never forgive yourself if you missed this opportunity."

"I guess you're right." Then my curiosity got the best of me and I stood. "Let's go."

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Okay readers, before I start the next chapter, I want to know who Natalie and Dylan's parents should be. Review! Please and thanks. :) Oh yeah and I don't think they ever mentioned in the book if that letter Percy got from his dad at the end of the second book was in Greek or not, but for the sake of my story it is.


	4. Monsters!

Sorry, people! I know you all have waited months for this, I'm just kind of tired of it. This chapter is dedicated to aphroditeathena, who encouraged me to continue writing. Sorry, I actually promised to update this a few weeks ago, but I kind of forgot about it. Anyway, here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO

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Katie's POV

"Oh, I'm a goofy goober, yeah! You're a goofy goober, yeah! We're all-"

"Dylan!" I shouted. "Shut up! We're walking down a dark street all by ourselves to meet some creepy guy in an alley and you're singing songs from Spongebob!"

He snickered. "Sorry." We were almost there now. I was curious as to what we would find out from this mysterious man. What could Mom have been hiding from me? I wasn't sure, but I knew it would have to be out of the ordinary. Why else would I be able to read Greek without even learning but not read English?

We made our way into the alley and I looked around. I couldn't see much from the dim street light, but I was pretty sure we were the only ones there.

"Maybe they aren't here yet?" Natalie questioned, her voice raising a pitch higher. I heard a sound behind us and we all turned. Standing ten feet away from us were five creatures that made my eyes widen. I pinched my arm, knowing I must be dreaming. First, Dad comes back from the dead, then I can read something in Greek, and now this? But I knew I wasn't that creative and the fact that the pinch hurt confirmed that this was really happening. I must be going crazy.

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Annabeth's POV

"I'm so sorry," I whispered as I hugged my husband. He'd just told me his story and I couldn't believe how much he'd gone through. We were sitting in a booth (on the same side; neither of us wanted to lose physical contact with the other) at a burger joint. I'd offered to take him somewhere fancy, but he was so hungry that he said he just wanted something greasy.

"It's all right, Annabeth," he replied, stroking my hair. "It's not your fault. I should be apologizing to you; I should have been more careful. You had to raise our daughter on your own and go on thinking I was dead."

"You were very brave to save Clarisse like that, you know." He was about to respond when my phone started ringing. I'd always had one in case of emergencies, but I hadn't used it before yet, and I had left it at home when I was picking Katie up. After what happened this afternoon though, I realized carrying it would be a good idea. I sighed and pulled away from Percy as I pulled my cell phone out of my purse. I looked at the caller ID.

"It's Grover," I said and he grinned. I realized then that I hadn't told Grover about Percy yet, but this wasn't something I could do over the phone. We could always just surprise him later with a visit. I pressed talk and put the phone to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Annabeth! Where are you?" He rushed through the words and I knew something was going on.

"At a burger place. Why?"

"Is Katie with you?"

"No, she's at home."

"Oh no, this is _not_ good"

"What is it, Grover?" I was worried now. Percy must have noticed because he put his arm around my waist and pulled me close.

"I smell monsters."

"What?" I jumped up and scurried out of the booth. "Where?" I asked as I ran for the car. Percy caught up to me and was at my side.

"On a few different streets in the center of the city. I think they're trying to confuse us."

"All right. We'll take the east side, you take the west."

"Wait a second, you said _we. _Who's with you?"

"I can't talk right now, Grover. Let me know if anything new pops up."

"All right. Bye." I hung up the phone and got into the driver's seat of my car.

"What's going on?" Percy asked as I drove out of the parking lot as fast as I possibly could.

"Monsters." I answered and then realized checking on Katie would be a good idea. I pulled my phone back out and dialed our home number. It rang a few times, then went to voicemail. That's not a good sign. I'd always taught Katie to answer the phone when I called so that I'd know she was all right whenever something like this came up. Of course, she didn't know monsters were involved, but she knew she would be grounded if she didn't pick up the phone.

"Who are you calling?" Percy asked.

"Katie." I said as I redialed.

"Is that her name? Our daughter?" I loved hearing the sound of him calling Katie _our _daughter, but I couldn't think about it much at the moment.

"Yes. Katlyn Danielle Jackson."

"That's beautiful." he said dreamily. "Do you think she figured out who I am?"

"Percy, please don't take this the wrong way, but at the moment, we have other worries."

"Sorry. How many monsters?"

"I'm not sure. Grover said he thinks they're trying to confuse us by running down different roads."

"What do you think they're doing here?"

"I'm not sure, but they're probably up to no good."

"As usual." I saw a few figures in the distance as we went down Oak Avenue. I counted eight, five of them obviously not human. I sped up and pulled over when we were just a few feet away.

"You have Riptide?" I asked and watched as Percy pulled the pen I hadn't seen in so long out of his pocket. I opened the car door to get out, but then I realized I didn't have a weapon. I had long ago packed my dagger away at home; we hadn't seen monster activity in years. Percy was already out, fighting one of the monsters. I looked around for something, but there wasn't anything that would be useful.

There was a scream and I knew what I had to do. I ran out of the car and towards my daughter. What she was doing here, I had no idea, but there was no time for questions. Katlyn handed something to me and I looked at it. It was my dagger. How did she get this? I heard a roar and turned back to the monsters.

A few minutes later, I killed the last one and watched as it turned into a pile of dust. I looked over to Percy and saw that he was covered in green goo from one of the monsters. I saw his gaze was on something behind me and I turned to see my daughter and her friends staring at us with shocked expressions. Oh, great.

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Review! Please and thanks! I'm not sure if I'll be updating any time soon though, so sorry if you are enjoying this story.


	5. Goodbye

Hey people! I'm so sorry I know I haven't updated in FOREVER! I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. Anywho, I decided that we need to know a little about what happened while Percy was gone, so this chapter starts when he leaves camp. I'll probably have another two chapters or so about him, but I'm not sure yet. So, yeah. On with the story!

Disclaimer: I know it's been months, but I STILL do not own PJO.

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15 years ago:

Percy's POV

"Do you really have to go?" Annabeth touched my cheek gently as we held each other. I had been called away on an emergency quest to save some half-bloods up in Maine. No one had wanted me to go, especially Annabeth, but Chiron had received an anonymous letter the day before explaining about the half-bloods and how I was the only one who could protect them without getting hurt because of my invincibility. The fact that I'd be taking the role of "human shield" didn't make Annabeth any more eager to let me go, but I knew I had to.

I nodded in response to her question. "You know I'd stay if I could. I love seeing our little one grow inside of you every day." I set my hand on top of her belly. She smiled and removed her hand from my cheek, moving it down to hold mine.

"Hi baby," I told our daughter. Annabeth and I had made a habit out of talking to her as she grew. "This is your daddy. Your mommy and I love you very much. I'm going to be gone for a few days, so try not to come out before I get back, okay?" I was going to continue when a flash made me look to the side. Rachel stood there with a camera in her hand and an embarrassed look on her face.

"Sorry," she said as she pressed buttons on the camera. "That was just the perfect Kodak moment. I didn't think the flash was on." With that, she was gone. I chuckled and turned back to my wife.

"I'm going to miss you," she whispered, "So much." Her eyes were wet with tears and I wrapped my arms back around her, kissing her forehead lightly.

"I'll miss you, too. I'll think of you every minute I'm gone. I promise I'll be back before our baby is born."

She nodded, smiling. "You'd better, Seaweed Brain. Otherwise I'll have to come after you myself." To others, it sounded as if she was only joking, but knowing Annabeth, you could never be sure.

"Rachel!" I called. The redhead turned from where she was taking a picture of a few younger campers next to Thalia's tree. I motioned for her to come over and she did.

"You need something?" she asked, looking down at her camera screen.

"I have a huge favor to ask."

She looked up at that with one eyebrow raised. "Really? And what might this favor be?"

"Annabeth here seems to want to follow me. I need you to keep an eye on her. You know, make sure she doesn't do something stupid like leaving camp for a dangerous quest by herself when she's eight months pregnant."

"Hey!" Annabeth protested. "I was only kidding. You don't have to get all protective; I can take care of myself."

"Only kidding?" I snorted. "Sure, when pigs fly." She bit down on her lip as if to stop herself from laughing and I realized the flaw in my statement: pigs _can _fly. At least, some of them can. "Ugh, you know what I mean. Besides, it's not for you, it's for the baby. I don't want you to be tempted to go out and follow me. I'll be fine and it's not worth the risk."

She crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrows. "Oh and you don't think I can take care of myself and our baby without you here? What are you saying?"

I rolled my eyes. "You know what I mean. I'll feel a lot better about leaving you if there's someone here helping you in my place. I _do _trust you and I know you're going to be a great mother, but something out of your control could still end up happening. Just let Rachel help you. If not for me, do it for the baby."

Annabeth sighed. "Fine. Rachel, I guess this means you're going to be babysitting me for a few days."

Rachel shrugged. "Sounds easy enough."

"You have no idea what you're getting into," I joked, "With all these crazy cravings and mood swings, not to mention her already stubborn nature. With all of that to put up with, you definitely will have your hands full."

"Hey!" Annabeth playfully punched my arm. "Why don't you try being pregnant and see how you feel? And if I recall correctly, _you _are the one who got me pregnant in the first place."

I grinned. "Well, I should hope it was me. Otherwise, I-"

"Okay, gross," Rachel said. "Too much information."

"What? Did I say something offensive?" Annabeth asked innocently.

"It's not what you _said, _it's what you were about to say. Even thinking about it makes me sick." Rachel pretended to gag as Annabeth and I started cracking up. "Now, if you two lovebirds don't mind, I'm going to go get some more pictures before you guys leave for the quest. Have fun talking about…stuff. Tootles."

I turned back to Annabeth. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it when a hand landed on my shoulder. I turned to see Clarisse standing there.

"Sorry to ruin the moment, but we need to get out of here if we want to get there before sundown.

I nodded. I knew she was right, but I really didn't want to leave so close to Annabeth's due date. I looked back at Annabeth and our lips met for one last kiss.

"I love you," I told her when we broke away."

"I love you more," she whispered.

I laughed. "Somehow, I doubt that."

She threw her hands in the air in a helpless gesture. "Okay, whatever. Believe what you want to, but it's the truth."

"No, I-" I was cut off by the sound of the van's horn.

"Come on, Percy," Clarisse, who I hadn't even realized was still there, grabbed my arm and started pulling me towards the van.

"Hey!" I protested, reaching for Annabeth, who was laughing as she waved goodbye. I stumbled a little and turned around so I could walk to the van rather than being dragged there. Clarisse opened the back door and pushed me in next to Grover. Apparently, everyone else had been waiting on me to leave.

Clarisse hopped in the passenger seat next to Nico, who was driving for the first part of the trip. Nico started the van and pulled away slowly and I couldn't resist one last glance at my wife. She was smiling sadly from where she stood next to Rachel, who had finally put her camera down. I turned forward again, frowning a little to myself. Rachel was going to take care of her, I knew, and she wasn't even due for another three weeks. I would be back in only a few days, so I wouldn't miss much. So, why did I get the feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong?

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Thanks for reading! Sorry, I know this was a relatively short chapter, but I have most of the what will happen next planned out, so I should be updating soon. Oh and I have a question for you guys. Since there will be a few more chapters going back to when Percy was gone, would you guys prefer it if I just made the next few chapters all about that and then get back to present times or do one chapter in present times, the next back 15 years ago, the next present times, etc.? Let me know! Thanks! :D


	6. Betrayed

Okay, everyone, here's chapter six! At least I think it's chapter six, I'm not exactly sure. Oh, well. Okay, so I have Natalie and Dylan's parents figured out now, so I'm probably going to go ahead and change their descriptions, so yeah. Oh yeah, just so you know, don't get too freaked out by the beginning of this chapter, just read on and you'll see.

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO (or the Chariots of Fire song)! ;)

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"Oh my gosh, Mom!" I called. "You saved us!" *Slow motion running into each other's arms. Cue the Chariots of Fire song.* I looked up and we smiled at each other.

"I love you so much!" I told her, then turned to the person next to her. "Hi, Dad! It's nice to meet you! I thought you were dead!" I said in the perkiest voice I could muster as I threw my arms around him.

"We did too, sweetie," Mom laughed. "Who's up for ice cream?"

"Ooh! I am!" I jumped up and down with my hand raised like a little kid waiting for the teacher to call on her.

"Me too!" Dad said. "I love mint chocolate chip!"

"Really?" I gasped. "Me too! It's my favorite!"

"I guess it's settled then," Mom said. "We're going out for ice cream." We linked hands and skipped off towards the ice cream shop as I told them both all of my deepest secrets.

Okay, as you probably already figured out, that didn't really happen and frankly, I'm surprised I could even imagine something so creepy and far from the truth. Anyways, here's what really happened.

"Katie, this isn't what it looks like," Mom said slowly as if she was picking her words carefully. I felt a surge of anger wash through me.

"Seriously? You mean after everything I just saw, you're still going to lie to me?"

"Katie, I-"

"Are you going to keep lying to me about my dad, too? Even when he's standing right there? I can't believe you told me he was dead!"

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped at what I'd said.

"That's right," I snapped. "I know who he is. Do you honestly expect me to believe he died like you told me and just came back to life? Huh?"

"I didn't know-"

"You didn't know what? That I'd figure it out? It appears that I'm not as stupid as you took me for, Mom."

"That's not what I-"

"What else have you been hiding from me?" I demanded. "Do I have an older sister? Are you some famous rock star up in Canada? Are you even my _mother?"_

"Katlyn Jackson, will you just let me explain?"

"Explain? What else is there for you to explain? I know all of your lies now and there's no way I'm going back to believing what you've been telling me. Why did you even start lying in the first place?"

"I wanted to protect you." There were tears in her eyes now, but I just tried to focus on my anger.

"Protect me? From what? What were those things, anyway? What am _I?_"

She bit her lip and looked down at her feet.

"Trying to think up another lie, Mother? Well, don't waste your time; I'm not going to listen. I know those things weren't human, and from what I've gathered tonight, I'm not so sure about myself either."

"I'm a half-blood," she blurted out before I could say anything else. "Your father was- _is_ one, too. My mother is Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and my father is a human. Percy's dad is Poseidon, the sea god, and his mom is human. We have the blood of the gods in us, so monsters are attracted to our scent and try to kill us. I didn't want to tell you because I wanted to keep you away from this kind of life- it's dangerous. Once you find out what you are, your scent becomes stronger. You're already more attractive because we're your parents, so-"

"Unbelievable," I interrupted. "In the middle of a time like this, you tell me that I inherited your _attractive-ness_?" I was pretty sure that wasn't a word, but I didn't care at the moment.

"No, Katie, that's not what I-"

"Everything that comes out of your mouth is a lie!" I yelled. "I can't believe you would try to convince me of something so ridiculous! I guess it just shows how highly you think of me."

"She's telling the truth!" The voice I heard surprised me and I turned to look at my father, who was now walking over next to Mom.

"Who are you to just budge into our conversation like this? You don't even know me!"

"Katlyn!" Mom exclaimed. "Do _not _talk to your dad that way!"

"No, he's not my _dad_. Dads are supposed to be there for you while you grow up. They're supposed to take you to the park, give you a band-aid when you fall down, play house with you. I've spent the past fifteen years thinking he was dead and you expect me to be excited that he suddenly shows up? This man may be my father, but he is definitely not my _dad._"

"Katie, please-"

"Just leave me alone! I don't want to hear anything else from you. I-I don't want to see your face ever again!" I knew the words were harsh and they weren't true, but I was angry. I couldn't take the hurt on her face, couldn't bear to be deceived anymore. I turned around and ran. I wasn't sure where I would go, but I could figure that out later.

After a few seconds, a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me back. I didn't have to look to know who it was.

"Leave me alone, Dylan," I growled.

"Listen, Katie," he told me. "I know you're upset, but you can't just run away from everything. Obviously, something just happened back there and your parents might be the only ones who can tell you."

I glared at him. "You act like I'm the only one who's different. Don't you remember what happened earlier? You and Natalie are freaks, too. And I don't believe what my mother just told us, so don't go backing up what she said."

"But it could be the truth! That's why it's so important that you don't leave. There are dangerous things in this world, as we both just witnessed, and you can't just go out on your own without learning about how to defend yourself first."

"Are you actually taking their side?"

"No, I just-"

"Aren't you even the least bit angry with your parents for never mentioning this to you?" He hesitated and my jaw dropped open as the realization hit me. "You knew! You've known about this for a long time, haven't you? And me too, right?"

"I couldn't tell you," he confessed. "It wasn't my place to decide when you'd find out."

"I can't believe it! One of my best friends and even my own mother have been keeping secrets from me." My voice cracked and I knew it wouldn't be long before the tears came. I felt so betrayed by everyone I loved. It wasn't fair.

"I'm sorry, Katie."

"No you're not! Stop lying to me! How am I supposed to know when you're telling the truth? Earlier tonight, for example, when we found the letter in that box and you acted so surprised, like you had no idea we could read Greek. I would have never expected this kind of betrayal from you"

"I _was _surprised, Katlyn. I had no idea we were able to read Greek. No one have ever mentioned that."

"Oh, really? Well, there's a lot that hasn't been mentioned to me. Join the club. Wait, sorry, we don't accept liars in the group." As soon as the words escaped my mouth, I realized how stupid they sounded. I looked back to where my parents were talking, my mother crying as my father had his arms around her and tried to soothe her. I turned my attention to Natalie, who was standing a few feet away from them and looking at me uncertainly. I knew from the look on her face that what we'd been told was news to her, too. It seemed that she was the only person who hadn't been lying to me.

"Come on, Natalie," I called. She ran to me without a moment of hesitation. I took one last look at Dylan, who looked slightly hurt, before turning away. He deserved to feel that way after what he'd done to me. I took Natalie's hand and took off towards her house.

"Are you mad at her?" I asked after a few minutes. We had slowed down to a walk and I realized that Natalie might feel the same way towards her mom that I felt towards mine.

"No," she answered. "I know she loves me and only want what's best for me. I think she was going to tell me soon because they mentioned something about that camp we saw printed on the boxes. I think it's meant for people like us."

"Good for you," I told her. I was pretty sure that my mother would have kept it from me for my whole life if she could have and the thought made me feel more hurt than angry. Why would she hide something so important from me for so long? Did she honestly think it would protect me?

"Your mom loves you, Katie," she said sympathetically. "Obviously, she thought this would be best for you."

"Maybe so," I grumbled, but I didn't believe it. "But even if that's the truth, why didn't she tell me my dad was alive?"

"Maybe she really didn't know. I mean, your dad seemed pretty surprised and excited to see you. It was like he was seeing the light for the first time in, well, fifteen years." I thought about it for a minute, how Mom had seemed so surprised when he came to our apartment. I even remembered her saying "I thought you were dead." Could it really be true? Or was everyone playing a cruel trick on me? Maybe they had set all of this up to get me back for… For what? Had I done something bad recently? Something so terrible I had to be punished so severely? But I knew no one, no matter how upset they were about something I did, would do something this cruel.

"Can we stop talking about this please?" I asked.

"Sorry," Natalie apologized.

"Don't be," I told her. "It's not your fault." We walked in silence for the next few minutes until we finally came to her house.

"It looks like it's going to storm," Natalie said as we walked up the driveway. I looked up at the dark clouds in the sky and saw that she was right.

"Strange," I told her. "I could have sworn it was perfectly clear a few minutes ago. Oh well. I wasn't planning on leaving tonight, anyways. That is, if it's okay with you."

"Of course it's okay with me," she said as if it should be the most obvious thing in the world. "You know you're always welcome here. Besides, I'm new to this kind of life, too, if you know what I mean, and I'd like for you to be here with me while I try to figure it out." I nodded.

Natalie rang the doorbell twice in a row, then once more two seconds later. That was her way of signaling to her mom that it was her and not some stranger. I saw a figure coming towards the door quickly.

"Hello, girls!" Natalie's mom greeted us. "What a lovely surprise! I thought you two were staying at Katie's house."

"We were going to, Aunt Rachel," I told her. "But I'm not exactly on good terms with my mother at the moment. Can I stay here tonight?"

"Of course, of course. You're always welcome here."

"Told you so," Natalie said as she led me into the living room, where we sat down on the couch.

"So," Aunt Rachel said as she sat down in a chair next to the couch. "Do you want to talk? Or would it be best if I just left it 'til morning? Either way, I _will _find out."

I sighed. "I guess now. Long story short, we found out who we are."

"Who you are?" she asked. Her eyebrows were scrunched together like she was trying to figure out what that was supposed to mean.

"I honestly don't believe what my mom said, but it's the only explanation that anyone has given us so far. She said they were half mortal and half god or something."

Her eyes widened. "She told you that?" They returned back to normal size as she looked down at her hands. "It's about time. I honestly thought she was planning on keeping that a secret from you for the rest of your life."

"So it _is _true?" I asked and she nodded in reply. "Well, this sucks. I was hoping there was some other explanation for why we could read Greek and stuff. It makes it a little more difficult to stay mad at Mom."

"What about me?" Natalie asked. "Am I like that, too?"

She hesitated a moment. "Yes, you're parents were half-bloods, too. You..." she trailed off, a dazed look on her face. She seemed to realize that we were waiting for her to continue. "Well, I'm not a half-blood. Actually, I used to be mortal."

"Used to be?" I asked. I pretended not to notice the way she'd changed the topic so fast and didn't finish her sentence. She was probably going to say something personal that only Natalie should hear and I wasn't going to prod.

Aunt Rachel nodded. "I'm the Oracle now. I tell prophesies that make pretty much no sense at all until after a quest is done."

"A quest?" Natalie asked.

She sighed. "There's so much to explain. I think I'll need to take you girls to camp so you can see for yourselves. How about tomorrow?"

"Would my mom be okay with it?" I asked. Even though I was still mad at her, I didn't want to do something that would make the situation worse than it already was.

"I can call her tonight and talk to her, but I know that out of all the places you could be right now, Camp Half-Blood is going to be the safest whether Annabeth likes it or not."

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Well, there's chapter six (or whatever chapter is was)! Okay, a few things:

1) I know it's sad that Katie didn't believe Annabeth and got so mad at her over what happened, but I've seen so many stories where characters are perfectly fine with figuring out what they are and frankly, I don't think I'd be too excited. Of course, it will get better when Katie hears the whole story from Annabeth's perspective, but you'll just have to wait for that!

2) Does anyone have any idea what they could be called? I mean, they can't really be half-bloods if they have two half-bloods for parents, so what would that make Katie and Dylan? Whole-bloods? Because that just sounds very strange. I've seen one person call them mixed bloods, which I think was a good idea, but I'm not going to use that because I don't think that would be far to that author. If you have any ideas, please let me know!

Thanks for reading and I hope you'll continue! Next chapter will be the next part of how Percy went missing! Review! Please and thanks! :D


	7. Deja vu

Hey everyone. :) Okay, so made a bit of a mistake in the last chapter, which several of you guys have pointed out. I haven't read the books in a while and I completely forgot about Rachel being a maiden, so here are the options for what I can do:

A) Change Natalie's mom to a different character, maybe another half-blood like Katie Gardner or possibly I can make up a character.

B) Natalie will be adopted by Rachel. Maybe her parents were both half-bloods and died in battle, or maybe she's just a normal half-blood whose mortal parent didn't want her or died. Maybe her parentage can be a secret and be revealed later on as something huge.

C) Rachel found some way around the whole maiden thing that maybe I can find an explanation for.

So any of those ideas, or possibly something else you can think of, are possibilities, but I won't know which to choose unless you guys let me know and if I don't get any suggestions on this, I'll probably leave the story the way it is. Sorry about the mistake. I hope you guys can forgive me!

Anyways, on with the story. This is another Percy chapter and I don't want to reveal too much, but here is where you start to see what happened to him and why everyone thought he was dead. Also, I introduce another issue that you guys will have to guess about for a while. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I still do not own PJO!

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15 years ago (Percy's POV):

"How about Diana?" Grover asked. We were sitting in the back seats of the van as we made our way to Maine. I had my feet propped up on the arm rest between Nico and Clarisse, which seemed to irritate them at first, but I guess they forgot about it. We'd been driving for about two hours now and it was almost three. The drive only took eight hours total, but we had stopped at a hotel the night before so we could get some rest. I mean really, who wants to go on a quest in unknown territory at night?

I shook my head. "It's a pretty name, but it doesn't seem right for our daughter."

"What about…Hannah? I've always loved that name. Even when you spell it backwards, it's the same name and spelling. Also, it sounds kind of like a ninja to me."

I raised an eyebrow. "A ninja?"

"Yeah. Hannah the ninja. That has a ring to it."

"Not really. Besides, this is our daughter we're talking about and she is not going to be a ninja."

"You don't know that for sure."

"Yes, I'm pretty sure she won't be a ninja."

"But what if she is?"

"Grover, I-"

"Okay, okay. She won't be a ninja."

"Thank you. Now, if you have any other ideas, I'd be hap-"

"You just don't like the name."

I sighed. "Well, it's kind of hard to like the same name they give to a pop singer from Montana."

"She's not even from Montana!"

"I'm not sure how you know that, but I think I'd rather not know."

"Okay, whatever. Forget Hannah Montana."

"Other than that, the name sounds too much like handbag."

"Handbag? How does Hannah sound like _handbag?_"

"I don't know it just does."

"You're too picky! Lucy is too old fashioned, Britney is too common, Hannah sounds too much like handbag, blah, blah, blah," he did a terrible impersonation of my voice, then went back to normal. "At this rate, your daughter won't have a name until she's ten!"

"Or Annabeth can just pick the name. I think she already has a few ideas in mind."

"Then why…" His jaw dropped open as he stared at something outside the window behind me.

"What is it?" I asked, turning to see what he was looking at. My expression copied Grover's as I saw the school. Westover Hall, the same school we had saved Nico and Bianca from about six years ago, stood before us, looking the same as it had back then.

"No way," I muttered.

"Hey, this is my old school," Nico said from the passenger seat where he was now sitting.

"Good," Clarisse said. "Then you should know your way around. We're going to go in through a side door so we can get into the gym without getting caught." She parked the car and we all piled out.

"This is weird," Grover kept his voice low so only I could hear as we followed Nico and Clarisse into the school. "Last time we were here, I called you guys because there were two half-bloods that needed to be picked up in the same place and we just so happened to be the ones requested to go on this quest?"

"Maybe it's a coincidence," I said. "I mean, they did explain why they needed us four. Nico _did _go to this school, after all, and he would be very useful to show us around. You, on the other hand, can smell monsters and would be able to keep us away from them. Clarisse is, well, Clarisse is Clarisse. I don't think I really need to explain that one. Then I'm invincible, so I can play as "human shield," as Annabeth put it."

"Yeah, but they didn't _have _to pick us. They could have printed out a map of the school. There are plenty of younger satyrs and campers just as qualified as Clarisse and I that could have blended in with the students better and done just as good as we would.  
And you, my friend, are not needed either. Since when do you go on quests to act as a shield for the others? Especially on such a simple task as to pick up two half-bloods? Satyrs do that by themselves all the time. Not to mention the fact that your wife is about to have a baby and anyone with a brain should know that you'd want to be there with her right now instead of being here. All I'm saying is that I think someone picked us on purpose."

"I don't know, Grover," I knew he made a good point and what he said could be true, but I didn't want to think about it too much. I was told this would be a short, simple quest that would take maybe a week at most. If this whole thing had been a trap, I might not be home for a while.

We walked inside the door that led to the gymnasium and ended up right next to the bleachers. I looked around and my jaw dropped open once again as I saw the exact same set up there had been the last time I was here, with the school dance going on and all of the students segregated into their groups. Even a group of girls were going around covering unfortunate guys in makeup. Clarisse led the way to the other side of the gym and we followed. I looked back at the bleachers and could almost see a young Nico standing next to his older sister.

I shook the thought out of my head. I was overreacting. There were plenty of half-bloods in the world and there was no reason why two of them couldn't be here. But Grover's words kept coming back to my- why had that anonymous person picked us out of all the other qualified, younger half-bloods? Obviously, they were up to something and they wanted everyone who had been here last time to come.

Of course, Clarisse hadn't been here, but they hadn't even asked her to come. They had wanted Annabeth, but obviously they hadn't known that she was pregnant. Chiron had met with me when he first received the letter two days ago, before he told anyone else about it, and asked what I thought. I told him not to tell Annabeth she was mentioned because she's so stubborn. If we had told her, she probably would have gone out there right away, pregnant or not, thinking she could defend herself and the baby. Maybe I was being overprotective, but I'd rather be safe than lose both of them on some stupid quest. Chiron and I had both decided Clarisse was definitely qualified for the job and agreed not to tell anyone about Annabeth. Then there's Thalia, but being a hunter, she would be on the move with the rest of her group, so it would be difficult to contact her.

"Look," Clarisse whispered as she pointed to a door where two kids, a boy and a girl, were being led through a door. Both had olive colored skin and dark hair. The girl, maybe two years older, was wearing a green cap. Just like Bianca's had been when she and Nico had been led through that same exact door six years ago.

"Oh, gods," I muttered. There was no way this was a coincidence. From the expressions on their faces, Grover and Nico had come to the same realization.

"Clarisse!" Grover called, bringing my attention back to the door. Now, Clarisse was running towards it, spear ready. She hadn't been there with us last time, so she had no way of knowing that this was a trap.

"Oh, gods, no!" Grover exclaimed as we chased after her. I bumped into a few teenagers along the way and heard some very colorful language when I caused one boy to spill his punch on the girl next to him. I continued running until we were going down a corridor. Finally, we found a door that led outside.

"Clarisse!" I called after exiting through the door. The wind blowing on my face seemed a bit cool for August, but I did my best to ignore the goose bumps on my arms. Clarisse wasn't too far ahead of us, but she was determined to catch the "half-bloods". I finally caught up to her, grabbing her arm, but it was too late. We were already in the clearing, where the cliff was- where Annabeth had gone over with the manticore.

"It's a-" I began, but the man who had been leading the kids (who were now nowhere to be seen) turned into a manticore. He was huge, with the body of a lion and a spiky tail covered in thorns that I knew were poisonous. "Trap," I muttered, though the warning was useless now.

"Where are they?" Clarisse demanded of the monster.

"Where are who? Oh, I assume you mean the demigods you've come to rescue. There aren't any." He laughed.

"I just saw them," she growled. "Where are they?"

"They're not at all who you think they are, Miss Chase-"

"Miss Chase?" Clarisse asked.

He continued, "Those demigods are on _our _side. They were just here to help lure you into my trap."

"Oh, yeah? Why don't they come out and fight us? Or are they too cowardly?"

"They can't come out," he said. "That would ruin the plan."

"Or they're just cowards." Clarisse charged the manticore, but he flung a thorn at her before she made it there. She ducked right before it hit her shoulder.

"Very nice," the manticore laughed. "Go ahead and hop on my back, Miss Chase, and dig your weapon into me like you did to that other manticore a few years ago. What was his disguise name? Ah, yes, Dr. Thorn. Not very original, if you ask me."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Clarisse told him as she charged for another attack. The manticore flung another thorn and she slipped to the side.

"Oh, I get it," she said. "You think I'm Annabeth. Nope, the name's Clarisse."

"What?" the manticore asked. Was it just me, or did he seem surprised and possibly even…horrified?

"Yep. Daughter of Ares. By the way, Annabeth is married now." She used his moment of shock to jump on his back, her spear ready. Another flashback came to me and this time, I saw myself standing there while the manticore jumped over the cliff with a fourteen year old Annabeth on his back.

"No!" I yelled, running to the manticore. I couldn't let this happen again to another one of my friends. The manticore howled as Clarisse pushed her spear into his back and I knew I had mere seconds left.

Where were the hunters? Shouldn't they be here like they had been last time? Of course not, they'd only help us, making the job more difficult for the manticore and whoever else had set this up.

I pulled myself up onto his back, almost stumbling as I did so, and stood there uncertainly for a few seconds before pushing Clarisse off. She shouted at me in protest, but I didn't care. She landed on the ground with a loud thump and I prayed that I hadn't hurt her. I stood there, feeling the manticore move beneath me like an earthquake. I took a step back, trying to secure my footing, but I started to fall backwards instead. The next thing I knew, I had somehow been flung from the manticore's back and was freefalling over the edge of the cliff, screaming as I fell.

There was no way I could survive such a far drop and I doubted my invincibility would save me from this. If I splat on the ground, the small of my back would hit hard, too. But wait, wasn't there water down there? I tried to look down, but the wind was rushing by me so fast that I couldn't even get a glance. I closed my eyes, about to pray to my dad, and heard Grover's voice in my head.

_Percy! Land in the water! You can survive this!_

_I'll try._

_You have to! You- you can't die! You're my best friend! _

_You've been a great friend, Grover. Tell everyone I love them. Well, not everyone, but you know what I mean. Tell Annabeth- _oh, gods, Annabeth. She would be devastated if I died. Not to mention our baby. _Tell Annabeth she's made me the happiest man alive and she's going to be a great mother._

_Stop that! You're going to survive! Here, Clarisse found some rope! We're going to throw it down and-_

_Grover that's not going to work._

_It has to! You can survive this. You're invincible! _I could hear the distress in his voice and it sounded as if he was already sobbing.

_Grover, I-_

I was cut off as I landed with a thump on something hard. I waited for death to take me, but I felt the same. I finally opened my eyes and found myself in what appeared to be a tiny jail cell. I was still alive. But how did I get here?

_Grover, I'm okay! But I'm stuck here in this cell. I don't know where I am. I need the help of you and your awesome satyr powers._

I waited, but no answer came.

_Grover? I was just joking about the satyr powers, but you still are pretty awesome. Can you get me out of here?_

He didn't answer. Oh, gods, what if everyone thought I was dead? I couldn't let that happen. I looked around, but the room was dark.

"Hello?" I called. No one answered. "Anyone here?" Of course they wouldn't answer. Whoever had taken me here wanted me captured for some reason.

_No, _I thought as a chill went down my spine. I remembered the horrified look on the monster's face as he had realized that Clarisse had taken Annabeth's place on the quest. He knew that Annabeth had jumped on Dr. Thorn's back when she'd been thrown over the cliff six years ago and he would have jumped over the cliff with her if she had been there instead of Clarisse. They hadn't wanted me to jump on his back, or even Clarisse. No, they wanted Annabeth, and anyone who would go through so much trouble to get her would still be after her.

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Okay, so there's chapter seven (I think)! I hope you enjoyed it and maybe you're starting to get ideas of where this story is going. I pretty much have the rest of the story figured out now and it's going to be so much better than I had originally thought!

Oh yeah, thanks for all of your reviews! And I've decided Katlyn, Dylan, and possibly Natalie (depending on who her parents are) will be called half-bloods because as many of you pointed out, they still have half mortal blood and half god in them. Sorry if you don't completely understand this, but I'll explain it better in future chapters if you don't. Anyways, reviews are much appreciated! Don't forget to let me know about the whole Rachel thing! Let your voice be heard! :)


	8. What year is it?

Hey, guys! Sorry, I know I haven't updated for a while, but this chapter is pretty long! And yes, this is another flashback chapter with Percy. Sorry, I know you guys were probably wanting to find out what's going on with Katie and all of her friends, but I'm a bit stuck on that part right now and I already had this part figured out. Anyways, I'm going to think a bit more about how to do Katie's POV and it should be up soon. As of right now, I'm going to change it so that Rachel is Natalie's adopted mom. Sorry if you wanted something else, but not many people told me their opinions and most that did wanted this.

On with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO!

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Percy's POV:

I sat with my back against the wall as I scrolled through the pictures of Annabeth and my friends on my cell phone. I had been doing this for a few hours now and I was sure my phone was about to go dead, but that didn't matter. There was no connection in the prison cell I was being kept in- I had tried last week, or maybe even the week before that. I had lost track of time and my phone was acting weird and wouldn't tell me the time and date, but I knew that I'd been in there for what felt like months. On the first few days, I had tried everything I could think of to escape, but nothing worked. Riptide wouldn't saw through the bars; the floor was made of some type of cement that didn't chip when I banged on it with Riptide; there weren't any windows, or anything of the sort.

Basically, I was stuck in there until whoever had taken me captive decided to let me out- and I knew for certain someone had captured me. I never saw or heard anyone, but every time I woke up, there was always a grocery bag containing three sandwiches, an apple, and two bottles of water waiting for me. At first, I was cautious, afraid that it could be poisoned, but after a day or two, I realized that if my captor had wanted me dead, they would have taken care of that already. At the time, it had slipped my mind that they wouldn't be able to kill me because of my invincibility, but I didn't realize that until _after_ I ate, and at that point, I knew it was okay. I know what you're thinking- how could I have forgotten something as huge as the fact that I can't be killed unless someone strikes the small of my back? Easy- my mind had been on other things- such as my wife, who had probably already given birth to our daughter. That thought was always in the front of my head, taunting me as I just sat back and waited for something to happen. I was sure that she was angry with me for missing such an important moment- that is, if she didn't already have it in her mind that I was dead. Gods, I needed to get out.

My stomach grumbled- a reminder that my food hadn't shown up that morning- or the day before that. I figured that something had happened to whoever was bringing me food- maybe they were supposed to be letting me starve, but snuck in food everyday and finally got caught. Nah, not likely. They probably just decided that I wasn't worth the trouble and were finally going to let me die. Either way, I was really getting hungry, and I didn't think I could take another day without something to eat. Luckily, I had saved one of the bottles of water, so I didn't have to worry about dehydration- at least, not yet. That would probably be gone by the end of the day, possibly the next if I limited myself on how much I could drink. Either way, I didn't have long.

I looked up at the door for the cell, where my bag of food normally was located, as if it would magically appear. Of course, it didn't. The lack of food was making me act strange, I guess. I was about to look away when something caught my eye. Was that…? No, it couldn't be. I stood up, setting my phone on the floor before quickly making my way over there and examining the lock where- yes, a key was stuck inside.

"No way," I muttered as I pushed the door open. I knew that the key hadn't been there the day before, so someone must have been there that night. I wasn't sure why they would unlock the door and let me out, but I wasn't going to stick around and wait for the answer. I stepped out of the cell for the first time in- well, however long it had been- and ran straight for the door that probably led to a hallway, or maybe some other prison cells. To my surprise, the door led straight outside. A huge grin spread across my face as I saw the sun setting on the horizon and took a breath of fresh air. The area looked familiar, but I wasn't sure why. As far as I could tell, it wasn't New York. I realized that someone might discover that I had escaped and come after me- which didn't make sense considering they had basically set me free, but it was best to be on the safe side. I turned to my left, prepared to ask someone for directions back home, when something hit me in the face before falling to the ground. I leaned down to pick it up and realized that it had just been a newspaper. I saw a trashcan just a few feet away from me and was about to throw it away when the date on it caught my eye- September 24, 2025. 2025! My head was spinning as I thought about that. No, it couldn't be true. I grabbed the shoulders of a woman passing by and shook them as I asked:

"What year is it?" She stared at me with wide eyes and looked completely freaked out.

"Answer me!" I shouted frantically as I shook her shoulders some more. She brought her fist up and punched me in the nose, which had no effect on me, but I realized that she wasn't going to help me. I let her go and ran up to the next person- an old couple who were too engrossed in their conversation to notice me.

"What year is it?" I asked once more as I stopped in front of them. The woman stepped back in surprise and started to fall down before I grabbed her arm and pulled her back up.

"Oh my God!" she said, eyes wide as she grabbed the man's arm.

"No punk is going to treat my wife that way!" he yelled.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I need to know what year it is!" I told him. I was pulled back suddenly and saw that a few people had started to crowd around us. I turned my head to see who had grabbed me when someone sprayed something in my eyes.

"Augh!" I shouted as I rubbed my eyes frantically, surprised that it had hurt me. It wasn't supposed to- not with my invincibility.

"Did you see that?" I heard someone ask. "He just pushed over that elderly woman!"

"I bet he just escaped prison," someone else replied.

"Or maybe an asylum- he says he doesn't know what year it is." I heard police sirens coming and knew that I had to get out of there. My eyes were still burning and I could barely see through them, but I ran away as fast as I could.

"Someone catch him!" I heard someone yell. I speeded up until I was sprinting away from them- where to, I wasn't sure, just as long as it was away from the angry crowd.

"Hey!" I heard someone call, but much closer this time. "Hop in!" I looked up for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on, when I saw the taxi. The driver had stopped and was gesturing for me to get inside. Normally, I would think about what I was doing before just getting in, but one look at what was now turning into an angry mob chasing me and I got in the backseat without hesitation. The man took off as soon as I was inside and we were soon speeding down the street.

"Here," he said, passing me back an unopened bottle of water. "Put some in your eyes- it should help." I did as he had suggested and my eyes were back to normal at once. Of course, that probably had to do with the fact that I was a son of Poseidon.

"Thanks," I mumbled as I put on my seatbelt.

"Don't mention it," he replied. "If you don't mind me asking, what did you do to make them all so angry?"

I sighed as I realized that I should tell him- after all, he had just saved me from an angry mob. "I know this is going to sound crazy," I began. "But I was…kidnapped. I've been locked up for a long time and I need to get back to my wife- she's, well, if it's what year I think it is, she already had our daughter. Oh, gods. Please, please tell me what year it is." I begged, praying to every god I could think of that the newspaper had been wrong and it was still 2010.

"I'm sorry, man," he told me apologetically. "But it's 2025."

"Oh, gods," I muttered as I put my head in my hands. I had been gone for fifteen years! How was that even possible? Sure, it had felt like years, but I knew that I couldn't have been in there for more than a few weeks at most.

"So, what are you doing out here in Vegas?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

My head popped up. "Vegas? As in _Las_ Vegas?"

"Um, I don't know of any other Vegas," he answered. Las Vegas? How did I get all the way here? As far as I knew, I had been stuck in the same prison cell the whole time and I had always assumed it was in Maine, since that was where we had fought the Manticore.

"I have no idea how I got here," I answered. "But I have to get back to New York- everyone probably thinks I'm dead. And my daughter…" I trailed off as tears stung my eyes. Our daughter was already fifteen. I had missed out on everything- her birth, her first Christmas and birthday, first day of school, telling her who she really is. I didn't even know what she looked like! The cab stopped suddenly and I looked up to see that we were at an airport.

"You need to get home," he told me.

"I can't," I told him sadly. "I can't ride in planes." As much as I wanted to get home, I knew that Zeus would probably blast me out of the sky if I was in one.

"And why is that?" he asked.

"Well…" There was no way I was going to tell him about the gods and who I was. He had been nice so far, and I didn't want him to think I was crazy and call the cops on me or something, but I couldn't get on. Except for the fact that they probably thought I was dead, and if that was the case, would Zeus really be looking for me on the plane? After all of these years? I decided that it was worth the risk to get back to my family. "Okay, I'll go."

"Do you have enough money on you?" he asked. To be honest, I had no idea. I hadn't even thought about money for a long time, but I guess it was important now. I pulled out my wallet and peeked inside, but there wasn't anything. I sighed, sliding it back into my back pocket, when I felt something else. I grabbed what felt like a Ziploc bag and looked to see a huge wad of cash- fives, tens, a total of what must be more than three hundred dollars. A memory started to form in my mind, but I was too excited about my luck to pay attention to it. I had no idea how the money had showed up, but I didn't care. It was going to take me home and that was all that mattered. I pulled out a twenty and handed it to the man, but he waved it off.

"You'd better keep it," he said. "You're going to need it if you want to make it home."

"Thank you," I gave him a small smile as I opened the door. "Thank you so much."

"No problem," he replied as I closed the door. I started walking in and took one last glance at the man who had helped me so much. He had pulled out his cell phone and was calling someone, so I turned back around and kept going. When I was almost at the desk, a teenage girl walked by and she was smiling at me. I'm not sure what it was, but something about her was familiar. She was brunette and wearing a red and gold school letter jacket with a sparkling Omega on the pocket. Maybe it was the Omega, but something inside me said it wasn't. _It doesn't matter, _I told myself. I just needed to get back home and everything would be all right.

"When's the next flight to New York?" I asked the woman at the counter when I made it over there.

"We have one going to New York City that leaves in about half an hour," she answered after looking at her computer. "But it's all booked except for a few places in first class."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Sure, first class was going to cost me more than a normal ticket would, but at least I would be getting home that night.

"How much is it?" I asked.

"It's going to cost $708."

"$708? How can a plane ticket cost that much?"

"I'm sorry sir," she replied. "But this is first class we're talking about- and all the way to New York. If you want to ride it, that's how much it's going to cost." I guess I wouldn't be getting home any time soon. Unless… I pulled out my wallet and grabbed my emergency credit card. The woman took it and swiped it through the scanner.

"I'm sorry, sir, but this card is expired."

"Expired? But I just got it a few weeks ago!" Then I remembered- it had been fifteen years ago. I sighed, trying to think of another way to do this. "What's the cheapest ticket you have within the next day?"

"To New York?" she asked innocently.

"Yes, to New York!" I nearly shouted. I was sure that she was purposely trying to get on my nerves now.

"We have one at six AM tomorrow morning for $295," she said after looking over the computer screen.

I sighed, deciding not to comment on the price again. At least I could pay for it this time. I pulled out the wad of cash, counting the amount she had asked for, and handed it over.

"I'm going to need to see your ID," she told me. I pulled it out and waited as she entered my information into her computer. Finally, after several minutes of waiting, she handed me my ticket.

"Have a nice trip!" she smiled at me as I took the ticket and went to sit in one of the chairs in the waiting area. I started by counting the money I had left and came up with $35. It wasn't much, but maybe I could afford a snack or two while I waited. I dug in my pocket for my cell phone, deciding to look back at the pictures of my friends and family for a while to keep me busy. To my surprise, it wasn't there. I searched frantically for it, but my phone was nowhere to be found. I must have left it back in my prison cell.

"Great," I muttered to myself. "Nice going, Percy." A little girl sitting two seats down from me gave me a strange look before getting up and moving. I couldn't blame her; I was sure that I looked terrible. And now I was talking to myself, as well. Yeah, I wasn't the most appealing person in the room at the moment. I looked up at the wall, where a clock was hanging. It was almost seven PM. Only about twelve hours before I'd be on my way back home. If only I could make the time pass faster.

* * *

Okay, so it was really weird saying that it was 2025, but I just decided to say that he left in 2010 instead of saying like 1996 and coming back in 2011. So, yeah! And I did a little bit of research for the plane ticket prices, and apparently tickets from Las Vegas to New York really can be that expensive! Oh yeah, and there are a few references in this chapter to things that happened in The Sea of Monsters and those are basically clues as to what's happening. If you don't feel like going back and reading it again, don't worry, I'll explain later on in the story, but I just thought I'd let you guys know. ;)  
Anyways, review! Please and thanks! :D You guys rock!


	9. Paper Towel Dispensers and Camp

Sorry, I know I take forever to update. I have a lot of stuff going on at school though and couldn't find the time. I'm going to go back and change the whole Rachel being Natalie's mom thing when I get a chance, but for now, she's just adopted.

Ooh and please read the author's note at the end about the CONTEST!

Disclaimer: Still don't own PJO.

* * *

Katlyn's POV

"Come on," I muttered as I waved my hand in front of the towel dispenser. I'd always hated automatic paper towel dispensers. I mean, seriously, why does it take so long for a freaking paper towel to come out? And then when it finally does, it's always an itty bitty sheet that isn't big enough to dry your hands with. For some reason, this one was taking even longer than normal to give me a paper towel.

"Ugh," I grumbled. What was wrong with this machine? I waved my hand faster this time, but it still wasn't working.

"Maybe we should figure out how to open it up," Natalie said from behind me.

"Nah, that'll take too long," I replied. "I just want to dry my hands."

"Okay, then. Plan B it is," Natalie said, pushing me out of the way. I was about to ask what that was, but then she started disco dancing right in front of it.

I rolled my eyes. "Natalie, you look like an idiot. That's not going to work."

"Oh yeah? You have any better ideas?" she asked. I shrugged.

"Oh, what the heck," I muttered as I stood next to her and did the cabbage patch. We danced awkwardly for a few seconds until Natalie started humming that old 70s song "Stayin' Alive".

"Hey, there's a red light!" I noticed. "Is that good?"

"It's been on the whole time," she told me.

"Oh my gosh!" I threw my hands in the air in defeat. "This is pointless! My hands are already almost dry from waving them around so much. Why don't we go back to the table?"

"Don't give up," Natalie said as she started doing the sprinkler.

"Now you're starting to sound like a hippy," I told her.

"Excuse me," someone said from behind us. We both turned around and stared wide-eyed at the poor woman standing behind us. She was probably in her early fifties and obviously worked there since she had a nametag on. She didn't look too freaked out, so maybe she hadn't seen all of our attempts to get a paper towel.

"Oh, it doesn't work," Natalie told her as she stepped toward the dispenser. The woman opened it up and ripped out a piece of paper that had been blocking the slot.

"No," she told us. "It just had a jam. Now run along, you two. Save all that dancing for… well, I don't think you want to do that in public again. Just a word of advice."

"Thanks," I muttered, feeling embarrassed at looking like such an idiot in front of other people. I grabbed Natalie's arm and we rushed out of the bathroom and back to the table where Aunt Rachel was sitting. I wasn't sure if she had talked to my mom or not and to be honest, I didn't care, but she had decided to take us to Camp Half-Blood so we could "learn from the experts" as she put it. It was about noon, so we had stopped at a fried chicken restaurant for lunch.

"Hey, girls," Aunt Rachel said as we sat back down across from her. She looked concerned and leaned forward. "You look a little freaked out. Did something just happen? You know, like, out of the ordinary?"

"You could say that," I replied as I took a sip of my Sprite.

Her eyes widened. "We need to get out of here."

"No, not like that, Mom," Natalie reassured her. "We got caught doing something embarrassing."

Aunt Rachel relaxed and raised an eyebrow in a question. "Do I want to know?"

"Probably not," I answered. "But we should get out of here before that employee comes back and tells everyone else what happened." She bit her lip to hold back a laugh and stood up with her drink in hand. We followed her out the door and piled into the back seat, where we sat for another thirty minutes until we pulled over on the side of the road.

"What's going on?" I asked. "Are we out of gas?"

"Nope," Aunt Rachel replied as she opened her door and got out. "Come outside and feel the fresh air, girls. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."

* * *

Okay, so camp wasn't exactly what I'd expected. There were some groups of kids doing normal things, such as playing volleyball and some of the younger ones playing tag. However, most of them were doing things so out of the ordinary I was beginning to wonder if I was in a different country. Shooting crossbows, sword fighting, even climbing a rock wall that appeared to have lava on it.

"Oh my gosh! Is that a flying horse?" My eyes widened as I followed Natalie's finger to what appeared to indeed be a flying horse with someone on his back. And the worst part is that the surprises didn't stop there. I saw a man with a horse for a body playing cards with someone at a table on the porch of a big white building. The sound of hooves made me turn my head to the side. Was that…? No, it couldn't be.

"Hey, Grover," Aunt Rachel said as none other than Uncle Grover stopped in front of us.

"Hey, guys," he smiled at us. "Good to finally see you two here. I guess Annabeth finally came around. Where is she, anyway?" I saw Aunt Rachel shake her head out of the corner of my eye and gave him a look that told him she would explain later. At the moment, I was too astonished by what I was seeing to care.

"But," I managed to get out as I stared at his furry legs. "You're- you have- Oh my gosh, can someone please just tell me what else I don't know about before I go berserk?"

He laughed. "Sorry to freak you out. I'm a satyr- half goat, half human."

"Ah," Natalie said, sounding as if everything suddenly made sense. "So, is there anything else we should know about you?"

"Well, I have a family, and-"

"What?" I asked. "Why didn't we ever meet them?"

"Juniper can't leave camp, so the kids just stay here with her most of the time. Maple! Fir!" Two little kids who were playing looked at him and ran in our direction.

"You named your kid Fir?" I asked, a little surprised.

"No," he chuckled. "He just goes by that. His real name is Anthericum, but he didn't like it much and decided he wanted something tougher and easier to pronounce."

"I don't blame him," I muttered.

"Yeah, I know it's a mouthful, but Juniper insisted on naming them after plants and thought it was the perfect name, so I wasn't going to argue with that. Plus, Fir means height, and I know he's tired of being so small."

"Daddy!" the little boy, Fir, exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around his leg. He was probably about three and had brown, curly hair just like his dad. In fact, he looked just like him, aside from his green eyes, with furry legs, as well. "Maple threw Teddy into Mrs. Frank's tree!"

"Maple," Uncle Grover scolded.

"We were just playing a game," Maple argued back. "He can always just get it down himself." She was about seven and had her brother's same green eyes. Her straight, brown hair went a few inches past her shoulders and, unlike the other two, she appeared to have normal legs. I guess it was just a guy thing.

"No I can't!" Fir whined. "That lady is scary and you know it! She's gonna wake up and throw acorns at me if I try to climb it."

"You could if you really wanted your bear back," Maple taunted. "I think you're just chicken."

"Nuh uh!"

"Uh huh!"

"N-"

"Hey!" someone else broke in. "What's going on here?"

"Mommy!" Fir exclaimed. "Maple-"

"Don't listen to him! He's just lying!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"You two had better shut your mouths right now," the woman, Juniper, I assumed, scolded them. "Or else you're both grounded from going into the woods for a week."

"Yes, Mommy," they said simultaneously, defeated. I felt a little bad for them, but it was getting pretty annoying. Juniper seemed to notice Natalie and me for the first time and she turned to Grover.

"Who's this?" she asked curiously.

"Juniper, meet Natalie Dare and Katlyn Jackson," Grover said as he gave his wife a meaningful look. Her eyes widened.

"You mean…?" He nodded. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Maple.

"Who's that?" I looked down at her, thinking she was talking about us, but then I saw her pointing her finger to the top of the hill. Everyone was crowding around someone, but I couldn't see who it was at first until they shifted a bit. It turned out to be not just one, but two people. Of course, they had to be the two people who I really didn't want to see at the moment. I heard several gasps as more people joined the crowd.

"Oh my gods," Uncle Grover muttered. I turned to look at him and immediately had to look away. He had tears in his eyes and looked happier, more excited than I'd ever seen him. Then he took off, Juniper trailing behind him, towards my parents. The sight was too much for me to bear. How was it that so many people were happy about the return of my father, yet I was the one who practically hated him for not showing up sooner?

I felt a hand on my arm and turned to see Aunt Rachel, who was looking at me sympathetically. "Come on," she told me. "I'm going to get you two settled and then I'll give you a tour if you want."

"No, it's okay," I replied. "I think I'll take a nap." I wasn't tired, but I didn't feel like walking around all of these people who were so happy about my dad's return. All I really wanted was for things to go back to normal- to the way they were supposed to be: where I didn't know I was a freak, when I didn't have to deal with finding out one of my best friends and crush was a traitor. Back before I had a dad. But it was too late; my world had suddenly spun out of control in a matter of mere hours and there was nothing I could do about it.

* * *

The ending was a bit depressing, I know. It made me sad to write that part about wishing Percy wasn't there :( Anyways, hopefully it should be getting happier soon :) Oh and I know the beginning part wasn't really necessary, and was even a bit strange, but hey, I wanted to add a little bit of humor to the story and couldn't resist writing that. ;)

CONTEST:

Okay, so I really love getting reviews, but I don't think it's right for me to require a certain amount before I update, so I've come up with my own little way to bribe you guys. :)

So here are the rules: You have to be 18 years or older (hehe just kidding idk why I wrote that) Okay, so there aren't really any rules, but I'm gonna let you know how this works. I'm going to put all of my reviewers name into a hat or something of that sort and do a drawing. Whoever gets picked wins, but let me explain a little more. Let's say you submitted five reviews, your name will be put into the drawing five times. Um, yeah I think that's about it. Oh, yeah, anonymous reviewers: I love you guys, but sadly, you can't be part of this. Sorry, guys.

FIRST PRIZE: I'll write you a oneshot about whatever you want (as long as it's appropriate and I approve ;) ) I don't mind adding characters of your choice and it doesn't even have to be PJO if you don't want (once again, I have to approve first). I can also refer others to your stories and tell them how awesome you are :)

SECOND PRIZE: Sorry, it's not much, but I can go and review your stories and refer others to them.

If you guys don't like these ideas, please let me know. I can always change the prizes, but that was all I could think of.

Anyways, please review! Thanks! :D You guys are awesome!


	10. Talking Pegasi and the Beach

Here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO

* * *

"Katie?" someone asked as they knocked on the door. I pulled the sheet over my head and stayed still, hoping they would think I was sleeping and go away. At the moment, I was still hiding away in one of the Big House's guest rooms, which Aunt Rachel had told me I'd be sharing with Natalie, who had taken up her mom's offer of a tour of the camp. I'd been in there for a few hours and wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon. Sure, I was starting to get bored, but I would survive.

"Katie, get up," Aunt Rachel said as she opened the door. "I know you're faking." She pulled the blankets away from my face and I had no choice but to give in.

I sighed and sat up. "What do you want?"

"Come on," she told me. "There's something I want to show you."

"I don't want to go."

She sat down next to me. "Look, Sweetie, I know you're really upset and not in the mood to do anything, but you can't stay in here forever."

"I know. I'm just not ready to see them yet."

"Don't worry," she reassured me. "Your parents are busy catching up right now. We won't run into them, I promise."

I nodded slowly, deciding to give in. "Okay, fine."

"Good," she smiled as she took my hand and led me out the door. Despite her promise, I couldn't help but look around for my parents while we walked.

"Katie!" someone called after we were outside and I looked around to find Natalie running over to me. "Oh my gods, you have to come check this out! You know how we saw those flying horses? Well it turns out they're called 'pegasi' and they love me! Come on, if you're nice, they might let you ride them!" She grabbed my hand and was about to take me with her to the stables, but I stopped her.

"Wait," I said. I turned around, but Aunt Rachel wasn't there. "Where'd your mom go?"

"Huh, that's a good question," she answered. "I guess she decided to go somewhere else and let us hang out."

I shrugged. "Okay, well I guess we can go to the stables then." She grinned and nearly dragged me over there.

"Okay, so this is Diamond," she said, pointing to a white Pegasus, who made a huffing sound at the mention of his name. "He is really fast when you get him up in the air, but not so much on the ground. Ooh, and despite his name, Torpedo is actually pretty slow." She leaned towards my ear and lowered her voice as if she was about to tell me a secret and didn't want the pegasi to know. "Most kids think it's because he wants to be nice on beginners, but I'm pretty sure he's just lazy."

She went on and on about all of the pegasi and their personalities. Honestly, I was a bit surprised. I mean, sure, Natalie had always loved animals, but she'd never really been obsessed.

"So, are you ready to take a ride?" she asked.

"What?" I asked. "No way!" I had always been afraid of heights, and Natalie knew that. I had no idea what made her think I'd agree to ride a flying horse in the sky.

"Come on," she begged. "It's really fun! You have to try it."

"No."

"Why not?" she pouted.

"Because," I answered. "I don't want to fall hundreds of feet through the air to my death."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "We won't be going that high in the air. Besides, they'd never drop you. Come on. Please?" She made the puppy dog face that for some reason was always so hard to resist and I had to give in.

"Fine, I'll ride one," I told her.

"Yay!" she exclaimed as she pulled my arm towards the jet black pegasus she had introduced as Torpedo. "Come on!" she told him and he followed us outside of the stables. Natalie helped me get onto his back and Torpedo made a noise.

"Okay, so just hold on tight and don't worry, you won't fall. Like I said, he's slow. Are you ready?" She spoke faster than normal as if she was afraid that I was going to back down if she gave me time to think.

"Wait a second," I said, starting to freak out as the realization of what I was about to do hit me. "Don't I need like a helmet or something?"

_Don't worry. I won't let you fall._ The words hadn't come from Natalie and my eyes widened as I stared at the pegasus I was sitting on.

"Did he just…?" I started, but then I realized Natalie was still talking.

"…and then he'll land. I'll be right behind you, okay?"

"Natalie, I'm not so sure I want to-"

"I'm not going to let you back out now, Katlyn. Go, Torpedo!"

"Wait! Don't- Ahh!" I screamed as Torpedo took off into the sky. I wrapped my arms as tight as I could around his neck.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh," I muttered under my breath as I closed my eyes. This wasn't happening. I was safely on the ground, with grass underneath my feet and the sky above my head, like it should be.

_Calm down! We're not that high._

"Torpedo?" I asked. I wasn't sure if the pegasus was talking or if I was just imagining it.

_Yeah?_

"You can…talk?" I guess with everything else that was going on, a talking horse shouldn't be a surprise, but I would have thought Natalie would have told me.

_Of course I can. We can communicate with all children of Poseidon. You're his granddaughter, right?_

"Yeah."

_What's your name, kid?_

"Katlyn Jackson."

_Katlyn _Jackson?_ As in, daughter of _the _Percy Jackson? He's legendary!_

"So I've heard," I answered. He seemed to notice that I wasn't too excited about this topic.

_Uh oh. What did he do?_

"It's…complicated."

_Okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Just don't be too hard on him. From what I've heard, he's had a hard time these past few years._

I sighed. "I guess you're right. I can't believe I'm getting advice from a talking horse."

_Actually, I'm a pegasus. By the way, you should open your eyes now. The view is great from up here._

I hesitated. I liked Torpedo, and we didn't seem to be going very fast, but I wasn't sure I trusted my life in his hands. Or hooves, I guess.

_Come on, Katlyn, trust me. I won't let you fall. If you don't look soon, you'll miss the best part._

Oh, what the heck. I started to open my eyes slowly and the first thing I noticed was how far down the ground was. I tightened my hold around Torpedo's neck and was about to close my eyes again when I heard a flapping sound next to me. I turned my head to see Natalie riding Diamond, looking at me expectantly.

"Well?" she asked.

"I'm going to kill you, Natalie!" I shouted at her.

"Oh, shut up, Katie, you know you won't. Look!" She pointed straight ahead and I followed her finger. We were flying above the water, heading back towards camp. We were probably about a hundred feet in the air, yet I could still see campers doing different activities. Everything was so beautiful from up high and a sense of freedom came over me as the wind blew my hair back. It felt as if all of my worries were being taken away and I didn't have to think about anything. I suddenly understood why Natalie was so obsessed with the pegasi.

Torpedo began descending towards the water and my stomach was in my throat again for a few seconds until we were right above the ocean. I let my feet trail through it and water splashed everywhere. I couldn't help but laugh at how wonderful it was. Before I knew it, we were back on dry land and it was time to get off.

"Thanks for the ride, Torpedo," I said as I got off of his back.

_The pleasure's all mine, kid. Come back anytime you want._

I smiled and gave him an apple from a basket full of pegasus food. After leading him back into his stall, Natalie brought Diamond back and put her in the next one over.

"Still want to kill me?" she asked as she grabbed a brush for Diamond.

"Eh, maybe later," I replied. "I'm not really in the mood."

She grinned back at me. "Glad to hear it. Do you want me to show you how to groom them?"

"Actually, there was something else I wanted to go see."

"Okay. See you later!" she called after me as I left the stable.

* * *

I wasn't sure if it was just the whole granddaughter of Poseidon thing or just the peaceful feeling of the ocean that led me to the beach. Maybe it was both. Or maybe it was the sunset that just made it so much more beautiful. I didn't really care which and just enjoyed sitting there, watching the waves and the pink sky.

"Throw it to me!" Fir called to his sister as Maple threw the volleyball they were playing with to another little boy who was about nine. The boy smiled like he was up to something and ran down the beach in the opposite direction. Maple smiled and ran after him, leaving Fir behind.

"Zachary Stoll!" he shouted as he ran after them. "Stop stealing the ball!"

I smiled as I watched them running along the water. Zachary had dropped the ball and taken Maple's hand as they ran. Fir picked up the ball, looking disappointed as he walked back into the woods. I felt bad that he was left out and was about to go after him when I heard someone behind me. I turned my head and was surprised to see my father.

"Mind if I sit here?" he asked, motioning a spot in the sand next to me.

I shrugged, not wanted to tell him no. He sat down and pulled his knees up to his chest. It felt so… weird to see him in person, sitting so close to me. I could see his features easier now and there was no doubt in my mind that this man was, in fact, my father. I looked away when I realized I was staring at him, and looked back at the ocean. If he had noticed, his face didn't give anything away.

"It's peaceful, isn't it?" he said, breaking the silence.

"Mm hm," I agreed. We were both silent for a little while until he spoke again.

"I used to come out here all the time as a kid to clear my mind. Something about the ocean just…" he trailed off.

"It gives you freedom. You don't have to pretend to be okay, or be something you're not. You can just be you and forget about the rest of the world for a minute."

"Exactly," he smiled as he looked right at me. He looked down at his hands as he ran his fingers through the sand. "I'm sorry," he said in a low voice.

"For what?" I asked. The change in conversation had taken me by surprise and I wasn't sure where this was going.

"For everything. For not being there when you were born, or to do the things normal dads do. I shouldn't have left so soon before you were due." I saw tears in his eyes, though his head was still down and I was sure he didn't want me to see them. So he really _had _wanted to be there for me. A thought ran through my head and I realized how important it was to him for me to accept him. I put my arms around him in a hug and he jumped a bit in surprise before returning the gesture. I'll admit it was a bit awkward, but I wanted to let him know that I didn't blame him for what happened.

"It's all right," I reassured him. "What's important is that you're here now." I pulled away and the look on his face was worth it. He wiped the tears before they fell and looked straight at me.

"Thanks," he said. "I just wish I could have been here to help Annabeth give you the talk. That would have saved us a lot of trouble."

My eyes widened. "Um, Mom gave me that talk a few years back, so it's okay…" I trailed off, feeling more awkward than I had before. He started laughing and I raised an eyebrow in question.

"Not that talk, Katlyn. I meant the whole half-blood and Greek gods thing, but if you really want me to give you the other talk, I can-"

"No!" I shook my head frantically. "I'm good."

He started laughing again until the sound of a horn cut him off. "Time for dinner." He stood up and I followed his lead. He turned to look at me with a hopeful look on his face. "Would you…?"

I smiled. "Yeah, Dad, I'll have dinner with you." He looked so happy as he led the way to the mess hall. Honestly, I had planned on staying mad at him for a while, but he was a really likeable person, and I had always wanted a dad. After meeting him, I had a feeling that my wish was going to come true.

* * *

Hope you guys like it so far! :) I wanted Katlyn and Percy to get to know each other, so they should be doing that pretty soon. Maybe she'll make up with Annabeth, too. And what about Dylan? He hasn't been here for a while...

Review and let me know what you think! :) Please and thank you!


	11. Father, Daughter Bonding?

Okay, so I went through most of the previous chapters and fixed the mistakes I've made, so it will probably make the most sense if you go back and read it all, but you don't have to. I changed Natalie's description, which is in about the middle of chapter one if you want to see it, and now she was adopted by Rachel. Let me know if you find any other mistakes. Thanks!

* * *

Katie's POV

"So _that's _why Grandma always makes blue food when I come over," I said.

"You mean she still does that?" Dad asked after he took another bite of his blue cheeseburger. We were eating dinner in the mess hall and so far, no one had bothered us. I was a bit surprised considering how popular he seemed to be around camp, but I guess they all had decided that this was really important to both of us and kept their distance. Even Mom was sitting at another table, which was perfectly fine by me.

I nodded. "All the time. She loves to make blue chocolate chip cookies and then tell me some story about something you did you were little. My favorite is the one when you tried to bake your first cake and nearly burned down the house."

He almost choked on his burger and took a moment to swallow before laughing. "I was only six years old! It was Mom's birthday and I didn't think it was fair that she always made her own cakes, so I thought I would make one for her for once. It turns out, you're supposed to take the mix out of the box and stir it in with the eggs before you put it in the pan."

We both laughed and I was glad I had forgiven my dad. He was a really great guy and made me feel… I don't know, complete.

"You tell the story better than Grandma does," I told him when we stopped laughing. I expected him to make some joke or smile in response, but instead he got a sad, far off look in his eyes and I immediately regretted saying it.

"Umm…" I started, trying to think of what I could say. Should I change the subject, or stay quiet for him to think? I wasn't even sure what I did wrong, but he seemed to be lost in another world. It turned out I didn't need to do either because another voice broke in.

"Attention, campers!" the centaur that my dad had told me was Chiron announced. He was standing next to a table at the front and waited for everyone to quiet down. When he had everyone's attention, he continued, "As I'm sure you all have heard, we have some exciting news today. Percy Jackson-" he was cut off by cheers as everyone clapped and looked at my dad. He looked a bit embarrassed, but mostly happy about seeing his old friends.

Chiron cleared his throat and waited for everyone to be quiet again. No one was listening anymore and he surprised everyone by yelling "Shut up!" All of the campers turned to him in shock as the centaur began talking again. "As I was saying, Percy Jackson, who went missing 15 years ago on a quest, has returned to camp. Try not to overwhelm him with too much attention." The last part was added as people started getting up and surrounding Dad. He stood up and started hugging old friends and laughing at jokes they told.

I was pretty much forgotten at the table and couldn't help but feel jealous. He was _my _dad, after all. Shouldn't I get first dibs? _He's a human being, _I told myself. _Not a toy. _I was a bit surprised at the direction my thoughts had taken and scolded myself. How could I be so selfish? He'd been gone for 15 years, and there were other people he wanted to see besides me. It was hardly fair to keep him all to myself. Still, I couldn't help but sigh as I watched them walking to the campfire together. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Natalie.

"You can hang out with him tomorrow," she told me, seeming to read my thoughts. "Let him catch up with his friends for a while and then you can spend time with him." I nodded. She was right, of course, but that didn't take away the sinking feeling I had inside.

* * *

"Ooh, how about this one?" I asked, picking up a long sword with a decorative handle. It felt pretty heavy, but I could get used to fighting with it. Of course, Dad had to bring my hopes down by laughing.

"No way, I don't think you're ready for a real sword yet."

"Then why would you take me to the armory?" I asked as I put the sword back in its place. "I thought you said I need to learn how to fight."

"You do," he answered, picking up what looked a long, wooden stick. "You'll just be starting out with this."

"A stick?" I asked. He seemed to notice that I was not impressed and smiled at me.

"I'd rather not watch you get killed when you're learning how to fight."

"Yeah, but is this really necessary? I mean, I haven't seen anyone here practicing with sticks."

He shrugged. "Some of these other kids have been training since they were old enough to walk."

"And did they have to learn with sticks, too?"

"Touché," he said as he moved out to the practice area. I sighed, realizing that I wouldn't get to practice with a real sword. When we got there, I stood still as Dad handed me the wooden stick. It was a bit heavier than I'd expected, but I didn't let that show for fear that he'd give me a piece of Styrofoam instead.

"Hold your sword like this," Dad said, moving the arm that was holding the wooden practice sword up a few inches. "If you keep your guard down, your opponent can swoop right in and you won't be able to block the blow."

I nodded. It made sense now that he had pointed it out.

"Now put your feet like this," he said and I looked down, following his example. "Now I want you to swing your sword in the air and-"

"Hey, Perce," Uncle Grover cut him off.

"Oh, hey G-Man," Dad said, walking to where he stood a few feet away. "What's up?"

"Well, the Chariot race is coming up soon and Chiron said in honor of your first week back, everyone can pick their partners, so will you work with me?"

"That's great!" Dad exclaimed. "Of course I'll work with you." He patted his friend's shoulder. "We need to get started. Why don't we-"

I cleared my throat and they both turned to face me. Dad seemed to have forgotten I was there and Uncle Grover noticed me for the first time.

"Oh, hey, Katie," he said. "I didn't see you there." I bit my lip to keep from yelling. This had been happening for the past few days now, ever since I came to camp. People would come up and ask him to do this or that and completely ignore the fact that this was the first time I've ever actually had a dad. Was it really a crime just to want to spend some quality time with him without being interrupted every five seconds?

"Oh, right," Dad said as he remembered he was teaching me. "I promised Katie I'd show her some sword fighting."

"It's cool," Uncle Grover said, obviously disappointed. "We'll work on it some other time."

"No, it's all right," I managed to keep my voice calm. "You two go on and have some fun; I'll get someone else to teach me." I was hoping he would insist on staying and helping me, but of course, that didn't happen. Instead, his face lit up with a huge grin.

"Thanks, Katie," he said. "I'll make it up to you later."

"Sure you will," I muttered, but they were already gone. I looked around for anyone else that could teach me and saw one Hermes kid, I think his name was Johnny, hacking away at a dummy with his sword.

"Hey, Johnny," I called as I began walking over. He took a few more whacks at the dummy before dropping his sword and looking at me. A few beads of sweat were on his forehead, but that was the only sign that he had been working hard.

"Yeah?" he asked, looking a bit annoyed at the interruption.

"Do you mind teaching me how to-"

"Hey," he cut me off as a look of realization appeared on his face. "Aren't you Natalie's friend?"

"Yeah, I am. The name's Katlyn. Anyways, can you help me-"

"Do you know if Natalie likes me?"

"Well, no, she hasn't mentioned you before." This guy was starting to irritate me. "As I was saying, my dad was making me practice with this stick, but I really want to-"

"Does she have a boyfriend?" Okay, that was the last straw. I dropped my wooden practice stick and put my hands on both of shoulders, shaking him as I yelled.

"Shut up! If you want to go out with Natalie, ask her for yourself! As I was trying to explain, I want to learn how to fight. You know, with an actual sword. Can you help me?"

His eyes were bulging out of his head and he gulped visibly before weakly saying "Yes." I let go of him, feeling a little guilty for taking all of my anger out on him, but at least he was going to help me now. Johnny rushed over to the armory and I followed, picking up the sword I had been admiring earlier.

"Actually," he started. "That sword is…" he trailed off when he saw the look on my face and just shrugged. We made our way back to the practice area and he showed me some of the basics, not once mentioning Natalie again.

"Can we practice now?" I asked after slashing through a few of the dummies.

"You are practicing," he answered.

"No, I mean like, practice real fighting. I want to get good at fighting and these dummies aren't exactly resisting."

"I'm not sure that would be the best idea."

"And why might that be?" I asked, raising my eyebrows in question. He opened his mouth, but I continued. "Look, I'm not exactly in the best mood right now, as you've already seen for yourself, so can you please just help me?"

He shrugged. "You asked for it."

I slashed my sword at him, but he blocked it much quicker than I'd expected. This time, he moved in first and I moved my sword up to block it just a little too late.

"Ow!" I cried as the blade cut a gash in my left arm. I dropped the sword from my grasp and held my already bleeding arm. I looked at Johnny, who just shrugged.

"I told you it wasn't a good idea."

"Could you help me, please?" I asked, biting my lip to keep from losing my temper again. He walked off for a few seconds before coming back with some gauze and tape that he wrapped around the cut. I looked down at it and realized that it actually wasn't that bad, only about two inches across, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

"You'll live," he told me before walking away. I curled my hands into fists and took a deep breath. I guess I deserved it, and it wouldn't be fair to get mad at Johnny again. I put the sword back into the armory and tried to ignore the stinging cut on my arm as I thought of how I would spend the rest of my day.

* * *

"Hey, Katie," Dad said as he entered the pegasus stables. I had decided to spend an hour or so with Torpedo and some of his buddies to pass the time. At the moment, I was brushing Torpedo's mane. "Do you want to come play volleyball? Some of the Apollo kids are playing and they need a few extra players."

"No thanks," I answered, keeping my eyes on the pegasus. What was the point in trying to spend time with him when we always got interrupted and I was left alone looking like an idiot?

"Are you sure? It'll be fun." He paused for a moment, waiting for me to say something. When I didn't, he continued. "Okay, then, how about we take some of these pegasi out for a ride?"

"Look, I'm not really in the mood for doing anything right now. Don't you have someone else you can hang out with?"

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Oh, no," I said sarcastically as I set the brush down and looked him straight in the eye. "Nothing's wrong at all, Daddy-o. What would make you think that?" He looked hurt and I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.

"If something's bothering you, Katlyn, you can tell me."

"Oh, yes, because you know me _so _well and I should be able to trust you with all of my problems."

"We've been over this already. I told you, I'm sorry. Do you think I wanted to have 15 years of my life stolen from me? That I wanted everyone to miss out on so much in my family's lives?" I saw the tears in his eyes and dropped my gaze, unable to look at him any longer.

"You don't get it," I said quietly.

"What don't I get, Katlyn? Could you please tell me? Because I honestly don't know." What was I supposed to say? I couldn't tell him that I felt jealous; it didn't seem fair to him. I felt horrible.

"Uncle Percy?" a little voice said uncertainly from the entrance and we both turned to see Fir. I wasn't sure how much he'd heard, but he must have noticed the tension because he was shuffling his hooves underneath him and biting his lip.

"Yes, Fir?" Dad asked in a calm voice.

"Daddy's looking for you. He says they need you in the White House right now. I think someone important needs to talk to you."

"The White House?" I asked.

"I think he means the Big House," Dad said with a hint of a smile. "Thanks, Fir." He ruffled the little satyr's hair and Fir giggled before looking at me.

"Are you coming, Katie?" he asked. I shrugged and followed along. In case you haven't noticed, I don't exactly like being left out of the loop, so if there was any news, I want to be one of the first to hear. Fir was trotting along, humming a tune while Dad and I followed behind. I wondered if I should say something, maybe apologize for getting mad at him, but then I saw a strange look on his face.

"Where is everyone?" he asked. Once he had mentioned it, I realized that no one was outside. It was nearly sunset and usually, there would still be a few hours of activities going on.

"They're all in the White House," Fir told us.

"It must be something big for everyone to cram in there," Dad said.

Fir shrugged. "Maybe they have cookies."

"Yeah, maybe so." We continued walking until we made it to the Big House, which was completely crowded. I squeezed between a few people to get inside.

"All right, everyone!" Chiron called. "I need all of you to leave now unless I tell you otherwise. You will be informed of any information once we are finished in here." The majority of the campers left and I heard a few of them talking about the gods being angry. Once they all were outside, only my parents, Chiron, Uncle Grover, and a girl with dark hair who looked about my age were left. Her eyes widened as she stared at my dad in shock. She ran to him and hugged him, a reaction I was used to seeing from his friends when they saw him again.

"They told me you were back," she said. "But I didn't believe them. I didn't think it was possible, but here you are." Chiron cleared his throat, obviously not trying to ruin the moment but eager to get on with the announcement.

"We'll talk later," she told him before stepping back and nodding at Chiron.

"Okay," he announced. "Thalia has something important to share with us. She- wait, where did Clarisse and Chris go?" He looked around and I groaned. If Uncle Chris and Aunt Clarisse were here, that could only mean a certain friend of mine I had been hoping to avoid was here as well.

"They left a while back to show Molly the beach," Mom answered. "It's her first time here and she wanted to see it."

Chiron shrugged. "Oh well, I guess we can fill them in later. Thalia?"

The girl stepped forward and looked around all of us. "I just got back from Olympus," she started. "As I'm sure you've heard, the gods have obviously been angry lately and I wanted to talk to my dad." She paused, making sure we were all listening.

"And?" Uncle Grover prompted.

"The lightning bolt was stolen again."

* * *

Ooh a new twist! Sounds like someone's going to be going on a quest soon! ;) Review! Please and thanks!


	12. Family Reunion and the Minotaur

Chapter 12 is here! Whoo!

I'm going to start a **contest** soon, so read the details at the bottom of the page please!

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO

* * *

Percy's POV

"Are you serious?" Annabeth asked in frustration. "How the heck does Zeus always manage to get his lightning bolt stolen? You'd think he would have learned from the first time to keep a better eye on that thing!"

"Annabeth," Chiron warned. We all knew that insulting the gods was not the best idea. Still, I couldn't help but agree with her. Why would Zeus leave his bolt lying around after what had happened my first year at camp? Weren't the gods supposed to be smart?

"Let me get this straight," Katie said. "Zeus's lightning bolt was _stolen?_ How can someone even steal lightning?" We were all too busy thinking about what this could mean to answer all of the questions she would have.

"I suppose he's blaming me again?" I asked. "I mean, I always seem to show up right after this kind of thing happens."

"Well," Thalia explained. "Not exactly. He trusts you enough now to where he doesn't think you really did it. However, he knows something strange is going on. It seems like someone is trying to repeat things that have happened in the past, specifically ones that include you. Before, with the…" she trailed off and looked a little uncomfortable. I knew she was referring to the quest we had gone on 15 years ago, right before I was trapped in that prison. Someone had tried to make it just like the time we found Bianca and Nico, but I wasn't sure why. "And now with the lightning bolt," she continued. "My dad's not sure what will happen next and thinks it's safe to assume, at least for now, that you stole it. Maybe if we play their game for a while, we can figure out what these people will gain from doing this."

"So, he knows it wasn't Percy," Grover said slowly. "But he's still blaming him? That doesn't make any sense!"

Thalia shrugged. "Like I said, no one's sure what's going on. The best thing to do now is just do the same thing you guys did last time until you find out who's behind all of this."

"So you mean we have to do _everything _again?" Annabeth asked. "Like, going to the underworld and nearly getting killed _again_?"

I really didn't feel like doing everything all over again, but somehow, I knew that that was the least of our problems. If everything was going to happen again, then…

"Oh my gods, my mom!" I exclaimed. If it was going to happen just like my first year at camp, then Hades was going to try to kidnap my mom again. Everyone looked shocked by my sudden outburst before a look of realization appeared on their faces. Well, all of them except for Katie.

"What's wrong with Grandma?" she asked.

"I need to go," I said as I walked towards the door. "If I don't hurry, they'll get to her before I do."

"Does she even know you're alive yet?" Grover asked before I could leave.

"I was waiting for the right time," I lied. Honestly, I hadn't thought much about my mom in the past few weeks, as horrible as that sounds. First I was worried about Annabeth having our baby while I was gone, then I had to figure out how to escape from the prison cell I had mysteriously landed in, and finally figuring out I had missed out on 15 years of my daughter's life kind of distracted me from any other thoughts.

"I'm coming," Annabeth told me as she made her way towards me. There was no time to argue; Annabeth was too stubborn and wouldn't give in, anyway. I nodded and opened the door.

"Can someone please explain what the heck is going on?" I heard Katlyn exclaim before I left. I looked at her apologetically and shrugged.

"Sorry, there's no time. Chiron?" The centaur nodded and I thanked him before rushing out the door towards the hill. With every second that passed, I started running faster. The sun was setting in the sky and it was almost dark.

* * *

I stared at the door for what felt like hours, wondering what would happen when I knocked. Hopefully, my mom and Paul would open it and be just fine and happy to see me. But what if something had happened to them? Or what if they'd had a kid together and my return would only mess things up? What if…

"Come on, Percy," Annabeth said as she put an arm around me. "They really miss you. Sally talks about you all the time and Paul really misses having another guy around. We didn't rush all the way over here just for you to chicken out at the door."

"I'm not chickening out," I protested. Of course, she saw right through the lie and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Okay, maybe I am being a bit of a chicken," I admitted. "I'm just afraid of what I might find on the other side. What if Hades already got to them? Or what if he thought it would be too much trouble to take two humans and just killed them?" I knew it wasn't likely; the gods were smart and Hades knew that keeping hostages would get him what he wanted from me, but it was still possible.

"There's only one way to find out," Annabeth said as she lifted my hand to the door. I formed a fist and knocked lightly a few times, waiting for some signal that someone was coming to answer the door. After a few seconds had passed and I didn't hear any footsteps, I knocked again, this time a little louder.

"Why aren't they answering?" I thought out loud as I began to panic. I started knocking again and tried turning the knob, which was locked.

"Calm down," Annabeth told me as she began digging in her pocket. "They're probably not home. Or maybe they're sleeping."

"What are you looking for?" I asked as she pulled out a key ring with at least a dozen keys on it.

"I'm trying to find my key to their apartment. I haven't used it in a while, but it should be on here somewhere.

"This is taking too long," I said impatiently as I tried turning the knob once more. "They could already be long gone by now and we won't even know until you can find the key."

"Well, I don't see you doing anything useful! All you're doing is alerting the neighbors and they'll think we're trying to break in. Why don't you go see if their car is out front?" That made sense. If their car was out front, we would know that they were either sleeping, which was very unlikely, or they had been kidnapped. But if it was gone, they could be anywhere and we could still have time to protect them.

"All right. What does it look like?"

"It's still Paul's old one. You know, the little silver one," she told me as she tried shoving a key into the door.

"Really?" I asked. "Wow, that thing must be a dinosaur by now." My wife ignored the comment as I turned around and started towards the stairs when I stopped in my tracks. A middle aged couple was walking up the stairs slowly with hands full of grocery bags. They were talking to each other, but I didn't even hear as I stared at my mother and stepdad. They were in their fifties now and both were starting to get gray hair. Paul was even going a little bald. It was so strange and sad to see how much they had aged since I'd left and it made me feel even worse for not trying to see my mom earlier.

They made it to the top and I almost thought they were going to walk right past me when Mom stared straight at me. She let the groceries drop from her hands as tears came to her eyes and she put her hand over her mouth in disbelief.

"Percy?" she asked softly, as if she wasn't sure if it was really me or not. Before I had a chance to reply, her arms were around me and we were hugging each other. "Oh, my baby!" she sobbed. "I thought you were dead! They told me…they told me you were… Oh, gods, you're alive!" She kissed my forehead and held me tighter. I tried to say something, but I was speechless. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't this.

Finally, she stepped back and smiled at me as she wiped her eyes. "My baby is alive! Paul, look! He's not dead!" I looked at my stepdad, who was standing off to the side with wide eyes. His mouth turned up in a grin and he gave me a hug, too.

"Where have you been?" Mom asked as Paul released me. "Are you all right? Does Annabeth know you're back? What about Grover? Oh, gods, I'm going to go bake some blue cookies! You can invite the whole family over and-"

"Whoa, Mom," I interrupted. "That sounds great, really, it does, and I'm so glad to see you, but we need to get out of here."

"What do you mean?" she asked as she looked around. "Did someone follow you?"

"No one followed us," Annabeth said as she stepped forward from where she had been watching. "But we need to get out of here before someone does come after us."

Mom's face was dead serious now and she knew that this could be a life or death matter. "All right. Come on, Paul."

"What about the groceries?" he asked.

"Leave them," Annabeth told them. "You'll need to stay at camp for a while and they won't be any good by the time you get back, anyway."

Mom nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

"So, you never saw the person who locked you up?" Mom asked from the backseat. I had just filled her in on everything that had happened during my last quest. It had taken nearly the entire ride to camp to explain everything and the sun had already gone down. Annabeth was driving since, apparently, my driver's license has long been expired. I couldn't wait for things to finally start getting back to normal.

"Nope. He just left the cell unlocked one day and I got out," I answered.

"Hmm. That's really weird," Paul said. "It sounds like he wanted you to get out when you did, but he didn't want you to know who he was. Maybe he's planning on coming back and doesn't want you to recognize him." I didn't like the sound of that, but knowing my luck, he was probably right. Someone was messing with me and it was really frustrating.

"Um, guys, I hate to interrupt," Annabeth put in. "But it looks like we have company." The three of us looked back and saw the Minotaur racing towards us at top speed. He was still missing one of his horns from the first time we met around twenty years ago.

"I'm starting to really get tired of this guy," I muttered as I slipped Riptide out of my pocket. Mom and Paul both looked horrified at the realization that we may not all make it to camp safely. Annabeth sped up, trying to buy us some time and get us to the border before he caught up to us.

"You guys run up the hill as soon as we get there," I instructed as we approached the camp. "That includes you, Annabeth."

"Not a chance," she said stubbornly, pulling the car over on the side of the road. "There's no way I'm leaving you to fight him on your own."

"I can't get hurt," I reassured her. "I'm invincible."

"That didn't help you much last time," she said bitterly as she opened her door, her dagger already in hand. I sighed, knowing there was no way to talk her out of this. I unbuckled my seatbelt and looked into the back seat, where Mom and Paul were doing the same thing. I knew they wouldn't be able to get into camp until a camper let them come in, but they could wait at the top of the hill until we were finished up with our friend over there. Once they were on their way up the hill, I ran over to help Annabeth, who was darting back and forth in front of the Minotaur.

"Hey, unicorn!" I taunted him as I came to a halt a few feet away. "Why don't you get over here so I can knock that other horn off your head!" Okay, so I wasn't very good at giving threats, but it caught his attention. He charged at me and I dove off to the side, almost getting trampled. A dagger came out of nowhere and flew straight into the monster's chest. He roared once before turning to dust. I expected to see Annabeth take off her invisibility cap and appear right in front of him, but the dagger fell to the ground and a gust of wind blew away the monster dust. I panicked, looking around frantically for my wife, but she was standing about fifteen feet behind me, walking to where her dagger was. I stood up from where I was on the ground and stared at her in amazement.

"How did you do that?" I asked.

"What?" she asked as she picked up her dagger. I gestured to the spot she was standing. "Oh, that. I've had some practice. I figured one day it could come in handy to be able to throw a knife." She shrugged it off, but I was still impressed. We walked up the hill to meet Paul and my mom, who both looked amazed and relieved.

"You're going to have to teach me some of that stuff!" Paul told Annabeth as we headed to the Big House.

"I'm not sure that's the best idea, Paul," Mom told him. The three of them were talking about whether the benefits of having a weapon would outweigh the risks. I hung back a bit, feeling nervous. My left hang stung a bit from when I dove to the ground a few minutes ago. I must have hit it on a rock. I studied it and saw a red scratch about an inch long. It was nowhere near life threatening and wouldn't even need a bandage, but that's not what scared me. I knew what this meant and I didn't even want to think about it, though I couldn't get the thought to leave my mind. Somehow, sometime in the past fifteen years, I had lost my invincibility.

* * *

Dun dun DUN! I know I'm evil, but I had to do it. How did Percy lose his invincibility? Who could have done this? And what could this mean when they go on another quest?

***CONTEST!* ** Okay, so I love reviews as much as everyone else, and I don't really want to bribe you guys, but I thought of an idea that can be beneficial to everyone :) This is a DIFFERENT contest than the one I tried to start a while back. I decided this one would work better and I'm going to start it for all of my stories if you guys like it.

So, at the moment this story has 205 reviews. Whoever leaves the 225th review will get their choice of having me write a oneshot for them of something that I have to approve of (I can't write about something I haven't read :P) or they will choose one of my stories that they really want me to update and I will post another chapter or two ASAP. The winner will also get to choose a few of their stories that they want me to read and I will review every chapter and recommend the story to others. If the 225th reviewer is anonymous or chooses not to accept the prize, I'll give it to the next reviewer. I don't care how many times each person reviews, either. Sounds like a good deal? I sure hope so! Let me know if you guys have any suggestions and whether or not you like this idea. If y'all like it, I'll continue it as we go for the 250th, 275th, etc. Thanks! You guys rock! :D


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